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PATRICK HENRY 



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BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

1887 



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Copyright, 1887, 
By MOSES COIT TYLER. 

All rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge: 
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Co. 



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amencan ^tatejsmen 



BDI\ED BY 



JOir/ T. 1VT0TI;-.E, JR. 



EARLY YEARS. 3 

author of the " History of the Reign of the Emperor 
Charles V." Moreover, among the later paternal 
relatives of Patrick Henry may be mentioned one per- 
son of oratorical and forensic genius very brilliant and 
in quality not unlike his own. Patrick Henry's father 
was second cousin to that beautiful Eleanor Syme, of 
Edinburgh, who, in 1777, became the wife of Henry 
Brougham, of Brougham Hall, Westmoreland. Their 
eldest son was Lord Brougham, who was thus the 
third cousin of Patrick Henry. To some it will per- 
haps seem not a mere caprice of ingenuity to discover 
in the fiery, eccentric, and truculent eloquence of the 
great English advocate and parliamentary orator a 
family likeness to that of his renowned American kins- 
man ; or to find in the fierceness of the champion of 
Queen Caroline against George IV., and of English 
anti-slavery reform and of English parliamentary re- 
form against aristocratic and commercial selfishness, 
the same bitter and eager radicalism that burned in the 
blood of him who, on this side of the Atlantic, was, in 
popular oratory, the great champion of the colonies 
against George HI., and afterward of the political au- 
tonomy of the State of Virginia against the all-domi- 
nating centralization which he saw coiled up in the 
projected Constitution of the United States.-^ 

Those, however, who knew the mother of Patrick 

^ I have from private sources information that Brougham was 
aware of his relationship to Patrick Henry, and that in recognition 
of it he showed marked attentions to a grand-nephew of Patrick 
Henry, the late W. C. Preston, of South Carolina, when the lat- 
ter was in England. Moreover, in his Life and Times, i. 17, 18, 
Brougham declares that he derived from his maternal ancestors the 
qualities which lifted him above the mediocrity that had always at- 
tached to his ancestors on the paternal side. 



4 PATRICK HENRY. 

Henry, and her fanaily, the Winstons, were accustomed 
to think that it was from her side of the house that he 
derived the most characteristic traits not only of his 
genius, but of his disposition. The Winstons of Vir- 
ginia were of Welsh stock ; a family marked by vivac- 
ity of spirit, conversational talent, a lyric and dramatic 
turn, a gift for music and for eloquent speech, at the 
same time by a fondness for country life, for inartificial 
pleasures, for fishing and hunting, for the solitude and 
the unkempt charms of nature. It was said, too, of 
the Winstons that their talents were in excess of their 
ambition or of their energy, and were not brought into 
use except in a fitful way, and under the stimulus of 
some outward and passing occasion. They seem to 
have belonged to that very considerable class of persons 
in this world of whom more might have been made. 
Especially much talk used to be heard, among old men 
in Viro-inia, of Patrick Henry's uncle, his mother's own 
brother, William Winston, as having a gift of eloquence 
dazzling and wondrous like Patrick's, nay, as himself 
unsurpassed in oratory among all the great speakers of 
Virginia except by Patrick himself.^ 

The system of education prevailing in Virginia dur- 
ing Patrick Henry's early years was extremely simple. 
It consisted of an almost entire lack of public schools, 
mitigated by the sporadic and irregular exercise of 
domestic tuition. Those who could afford to import 
instruction into their homes got it, if they desired; 
those who could not, generally went without. As to 
the youthful Patrick, he and education never took 
kindly to each other. From all quarters the testimony 
appears to be to this effect, — that he was an indolent, 
1 Wirt, 3. 



EARLY YEARS. 5 

dreamy, frolicsome creature, with a mortal enmity to 
books, supplemented by a passionate regard for fish- 
ing-rods and shot-guns ; disorderly in dress, slouching, 
vagrant, unambitious ; a roamer in woods, a loiterer on 
river-banks ; having more tastes and aspirations in 
common with trappers and frontiersmen than with the 
toilers of civilized life ; giving no hint nor token, by 
word or act, of the possession of any intellectual gift 
that could raise him above mediocrity, or even lift him 
up to it. 

During the first ten years of his life, he seems to 
have made, at a small school in the neighborhood, 
some small and reluctant progress into the mysteries 
of reading, writing, and arithmetic ; whereupon his 
father took personal charge of the matter, and con- 
ducted his further education at home, alonjr with that 
of other children, being aided in the task by the 
very competent help of a brother, the Rev. Patrick 
Henry, rector of St. Paul's parish, in Hanover, and 
apparently a good Scotch classicist. In this way our 
Patrick acquired some knowledge of Latin and Greek, 
and rather more knowledge of mathematics, — the lat- 
ter being the only branch of book-learning for which, 
in those days, he showed the least liking. However, 
under such circumstances, with little real discipline, 
doubtless, and amid plentiful interruptions, the process 
of ostensible education went forward with the young 
man ; and even this came to an end by the time that he 
was fifteen years old. 

At that age, he was duly graduated from the domestic 
school-room into the shop of a country tradesman hard 
by. After an apprenticeship there of a single year, 
his father set him up in trade, joining with him in the 



6 PATRICK HENRY. 

conduct of a country store his elder brother, William, 
a youth more indolent, if possible, as well as more dis- 
orderly and uncommercial than Patrick himself. One 
year of this odd partnership brought the petty concern 
to its inevitable fate. Just one year after that, having 
attained the ripe age of eighteen, and being then en- 
tirely out of employment, and equally out of money, 
Patrick rounded out his embarrassments, and gave sym- 
metry to them, as it were, by getting married, — and 
that to a young woman quite as impecunious as him- 
self. The name of this damsel was Sarah Shelton ; her 
father being a small farmer, and afterward a small 
tavern-keeper in the neighborhood. In the very rash- 
ness and absurdity of this proceeding on the part of 
these two interesting young paupers, irresistibly smit- 
ten with each other's charms, and mutually resolved to 
defy their own helplessness by doubling it, there seems 
to have been a sort of semi-ludicrous pathos which con- 
stituted an irresistible call for help. 

The parents on both* sides heard the call, and by their 
joint efforts soon established the young couple on a lit- 
tle farm near at hand, from which, by their own toil, 
reenforced by that of half a dozen slaves, they were ex- 
pected to extort a living. This experiment, the success 
of which depended on exactly those qualities which Pat- 
rick did not then possess, — industry, order, sharp cal- 
culation, persistence, — turned out as might have been 
predicted. At the end of two years, he made a forced 
sale of whatever he had left that was salable, and in- 
vested the proceeds in the stock of a country store once 
more. But as he had now proved himself to be a bad 
farmer, and a still worse merchant, it is not easy to 
divine by what subtle process of reasoning he had been 



EARLY YEARS. 7 

able to conclude that there would be any improvement 
in his circumstances by getting out of agriculture, and 
getting back into merchandise. 

When he undertook this last venture he was still but 
a youth of twenty. By the time that he was twenty- 
three, that is, by the autumn of 1759, he had become, 
as a matter of course, a bankrupt; and in the relief 
which this incident afforded him from the daily drudg- 
ery of opening and closing his store and of lolling upon 
its counter, he had a period of undisturbed leisure for 
taking into consideration what he should do next. Al- 
ready was he the happy father of sundry small children, 
with the most trustworthy prospect of a steady enlarge- 
ment and multiplication of his paternal honors. Surely, 
to a man of twenty-three, a husband and a father, who, 
from the age of fifteen, had been engaged in a series of 
enterprises to gain his livelihood, and had perfectly 
failed in every one of them, the question of his future 
means of subsistence must have presented itself as a 
subject of no little pertinence, not to say urgency. 
However, at that time Patrick seems to have been a 
young fellow of superabounding health and of inextin- 
guishable spirits, and even in that crisis of his life he 
was able to deal gayly with its problems. In that very 
year, 1759, Thomas Jefferson, then a lad of sixteen, 
and on his way to the College of William and Mary, 
happened to spend the Christmas holidays at the house 
of Colonel Nathan Dandridge, in Hanover, and there 
first met Patrick Henry. Long afterward, recalling 
these days, Jefferson furnished this picture of him : 
"Mr. Henry had, a little before, broken up his store, 
or rather it had broken him up ; but his misfortunes 
were not to be traced either in his countenance or con- 



8 PATRICK HENRY, 

duct." " During the festivity of the season I met him 
in society every day, and we became well acquainted, 
although I was much his junior. . . . His manners had 
something of coarseness in them. His passion was mu- 
sic, dancing, and pleasantry. He excelled in the last, 
and it attached every one to him." ^ 

Shortly after Jefferson left those hilarious scenes for 
the somewhat more restrained festivities of the little 
college at Williamsburg, Patrick succeeded in settling 
in his own mind what he was going to do next. He 
could not dig, so it seemed, neither could he traffic, but 
perhaps he could talk. Why not get a living by his 
tongue ? Why not be a lawyer ? 

But before we follow him through the gates of that 
superb profession, — gates which, after some preliminary 
creaking of the hinges, threw open to him the broad 
pathway to wealth, renown, unbounded influence, — let 
us stop a moment longer on the outside, and get a more 
distinct idea, if we can, of his real intellectual outfit for 
the career on which he was about to enter. 

1 In a letter to Wirt, in 1815, Life of Henry, 14, 15 ; also. Writings 
of Jefferson, vi. 487, 488, where the letter is given, apparently, from 
the first draft. 



CHAPTER 11. 

WAS HE ILLITERATE? 

Concerning the quality and extent of Pat 
Henry's early education, it is perhaps impossible r 
to speak with entire confidence. On the one b 
there seems to have been a tendency, in his own 
and since, to overstate his lack of education, and 
partly, it may be, from a certain instinctive fascina 
which one finds in pointing to so dramatic a contras 
that between the sway which the great orator wiela 
over the minds of other men and the untrained vigc 
and illiterate spontaneity of his own mind. Then, toe 
it must be admitted that, whatever early educatioi 
Patrick Henry may have received, he did, in certain 
companies and at certain periods of his life, rather too 
perfectly conceal it under an uncouth garb and manner, 
and under a pronunciation which, to say the least, was 
archaic and provincial. Jefferson told Daniel Webster 
that Patrick Henry's " pronunciation was vulgar and 
vicious," although, as Jefferson adds, this "was for- 
gotten while he was speaking." ^ Governor John Page 
" used to relate, on the testimony of his own ears," that 
Patrick Henry would speak of "the yearth," and of 
" men's naiteral parts being improved by larnin' ; " ^ 
while Spencer Roane mentions his pronunciation of 

1 Curtis, Life of Webster, i. 585. 

2 Randall, Life of Jefferson, i. 20. 



PATRICK HENRY. 

as " Cheena." ^ All this, however, it should be 
. does not prove illiteracy. If, indeed, such was 
dinary speech, and not, as some have suggested, a 
3r adopted on particular occasions for the purpose 
itifying himself with the mass of his hearers, the 
evidence merely that he retained through his 
e life, on the one hand, some relics of an old- 
loned good usage, and, on the other, some traces of 
brogue of the district in which he was born, just as 
mund Pendleton used to say " scaicely " for scarcely, 
'. as John Taylor, of Caroline, would say " bare " for 
; just as Thomas Chalmers always retained the 
jue of Fifeshire, and Thomas Carlyle that of Eccle- 
lan. Certainly a brogue can never be elegant, but, 
it has many times coexisted with very high intellect- 
ii cultivation, its existence in Patrick Henry does not 
rove him to have been uncultivated. 
Then, too, it must be remembered that he himself 
had a habit of depreciating his own acquaintance with 
books, and his own dependence on them. He did this, 
it would seem, partly from a consciousness that it would 
only increase his hold on the sympathy and support of 
the mass of the people of Virginia if they should regard 
him as absolutely one of themselves and in no sense 
raised above them by artificial advantages. Moreover, 
this habit of self-depreciation would be brought into 
play when he was in conversation with such professed 
devourers of books as John Adams and Jefferson, com- 
pared with whom he might very properly feel an un- 
feigned conviction that he was no reader at all, — a con- 
viction in which they would be quite likely to agree 
with him, and which they would be very likely to ex- 
1 MS. 



WAS HE ILL ITERATE ? 11 

press. Thus, John Adams mentions that, in the first 
intimacy of their friendship begun at the Congress of 
1774, the Virginian orator, at his lodgings, confessed 
one night that, for himself, he had " had no public edu- 
cation ; " that at fifteen he had " read Virgil and Livy," 
but that he had " not looked into a Latin book since." ^ 
Upon Jefferson, who of course knew Henry far longer 
and far more closely, the impression of his disconnec- 
tion from books seems to have been even more decided, 
especially if we may accept the testimony of Jefferson's 
old age, when his memory had taken to much stum- 
bling, and his imagination even more to extravagance 
than in his earlier life. Said Jefferson, in 1824, of his 
ancient friend : " He was a man of very little knowl- 
edge of any sort. He read nothing, and had no 
books." ^ 

On the other hand, there are certain facts concerning 
Henry's early education and intellectual habits which 
may be regarded as pretty well established. Before 
the age of ten, at a petty neighborhood school, he had 
got started upon the three primary steps of knowledge. 
Then, from ten to fifteen, whatever may have been his 
own irregularity and disinclination, he was the member 
of a home school, under the immediate training of his 
father and his uncle, both of them good Scotch clas- 
sical scholars, and one of them at least a proficient in 
mathematics. No doubt the human mind, especially 
in its best estate of juvenile vigor and frivolity, has 
remarkable aptitude for the repulsion of unwelcome 
knowledge ; but it can hardly be said that even Pat- 
rick Henry's gift in that direction could have prevented 

1 Worhs of John Adams, ii. 396. 

2 Curtis, Life of Webster, i. 585. 



12 PATRICK HENRY. 

his becoming, under two such masters, tolerably well 
grounded in Latin, if not in Greek, or that the per- 
son who at fifteen is able to read Virgil and Livy, no 
matter what may be his subsequent neglect of Latin 
authors, is not already imbued with the essential and 
indestructible rudiments of the best intellectual culture. 
It is this early initiation, on the basis of a drill in 
Latin, into the art and mystery of expression, which 
Patrick Henry received from masters so competent and 
so deeply interested in him, which helps us to under- 
stand a certain trait of his, which puzzled Jefferson, and 
which, without this clew, would certainly be inexpli- 
cable. From his first appearance as a speaker to the 
end of his days, he showed himself to be something 
more than a declaimer, — indeed, an adept in language. 
" I have been often astonished," said Jefferson, " at his 
command of proper language ; how he obtained the 
knowledge of it I never could find out, as he read little, 
and conversed little with educated men."^ It is true, 
probably, that we' have no perfect report of any speech 
he ever made ; but even through the obvious imperfec- 
tions of his reporters there always gleams a certain 
superiority in diction, — a mastery of the logic and po- 
tency of fitting words ; such a mastery as genius alone, 
without special training, cannot account for. Further- 
more, we have in the letters of his which survive, and 
which of course were generally spontaneous and quite 
unstudied effusions, absolutely authentic and literal ex- 
amples of his ordinary use of words. Some of these 
letters will be found in the following pages. Even as 
manuscripts, I should insist that the letters of Patrick 
Henry are witnesses to the fact and quality of real in- 
1 Curtis, Life of Webster, i. 585. 



WAS HE ILLITERATES 13 

tellectual cultivation ; these are not the manuscripts of 
an uneducated person. In penmanship, punctuation, 
spelling, syntax, they are, upon the whole, rather better 
than the letters of most of the great actors of our Revo- 
lution. But, aside from the mere mechanics of written 
speech, there is in the diction of Patrick Henry's letters 
the nameless felicity which, even with great natural 
endowments, is only communicable by genuine literary 
culture in some form. Where did Patrick Henry get 
such literary culture ? The question can be answered 
only by pointing to that painful drill in Latin which the 
book-hating boy suffered under his uncle and his father, 
when, to his anguish, Virgil and Livy detained him 
anon from the true joys of existence. 

Wirt seems to have satisfied himself, on evidence 
carefully gathered from persons who were contempo- 
raries of Patrick Henry, that the latter had received in 
his youth no mean classical education ; but, in the final 
revision of his book for publication, Wirt abated his 
statements on that subject, in deference to the some- 
what vehement assertions of Jefferson. It may be that, 
in its present lessened form, Wirt's account of the mat- 
ter is the more correct one ; and, in fact, what has thus 
far been said in this book implies in Henry no greater 
school-training than Wirt has finally assigned to him. 
But this is the proper place in which to mention one 
bit of direct testimony upon the subject, which, prob- 
ably, was not known to Wirt. Patrick Henry is said 
to have told his eldest grandson, Colonel Patrick Henry 
Fontaine, that he was instructed by his uncle " not only 
in the catechism, but in the Greek and Latin classics."^ 
It may help us to realize something of the moral 
1 MS. 



14 PATRICK EENRT. 

stamina entering into the training which the unfledged 
orator thus got that, as he related, his uncle taught him 
these maxims of conduct : " To be true and just in all 
my dealings. To bear no malice nor hatred in my heart. 
To keep my hands from picking and stealing. Not to 
covet other men's goods ; but to learn and labor truly 
to get my own living, and to do my duty in that state 
of life unto which it shall please God to call me." ^ 

Under such a teacher Patrick Henry was so thoroughly 
grounded, at least in Latin and Greek grammar, that 
when, long afterward, his eldest grandson was a stu- 
dent in Hampden-Sidney College, the latter found " his 
grandfather's examinations of his progress in Greek and 
Latin " so rigorous that he dreaded them " much more 
than he did his recitations to his professors." ^ Colonel 
Fontaine also states that he was present when a cer- 
tain French visitor, who did not speak English, was 
introduced to Governor Henry, who did not speak 
French. During the war of the Revolution and just 
afterwards a similar embarrassment was not infrequent 
here in the case of our public men, among whom the 
study of French had been very uncommon ; and for 
many of them the old colonial habit of fitting boys for 
college by training them to the colloquial use of Latin 
proved to be a great convenience. Colonel Fontaine's 
anecdote implies, what is altogether probable, that Pat- 
rick Henry's early drill in Latin had included the 
ordinary colloquial use of it ; for he says that in the 
case of the visitor in question his grandfather was able, 
by means of his early stock of Latin words, to carry on 
the conversation in that language.^ 

This anecdote, implying Patrick Henry's ability to 
1 MS. 2 MS. 8 MS. 



WAS HE ILLITERATE? 15 

express himself in Latin, I give for what it may be 
worth. Some will think it incredible, and that impres- 
sion will be further increased by the fact that Colonel 
Fontaine names Albert Gallatin as the visitor with 
whom, on account of his ignorance of English, the con- 
versation was thus carried on in Latin. This, of course, 
must be a mistake ; for, at the time of his first visit to 
Virginia, Gallatin could speak English very well, so 
well, in fact, that he went to Virginia expressly as 
English interpreter to a French gentleman who could 
not speak our language.^ However, as, during all that 
period. Governor Henry had many foreign visitors, 
Colonel Fontaine, in his subsequent account of that 
particular visitor, might easily have misplaced the name 
without thereby discrediting the substance of his narra- 
tive. Indeed, the substance of his narrative, namely, 
that he. Colonel Fontaine, did actually witness, in the 
case of some foreign visitor, such an exhibition of his 
grandfather's good early training in Latin, cannot be 
rejected without an impeachment of the veracity of the 
narrator, or at least of that of his son, who has recorded 
the alleged incident. Of course, if that narrative be 
accepted as substantially true, it will be necessary to 
conclude that the Jeffersonian tradition of Patrick 
Henry's illiteracy is, at any rate, far too highly tinted. 
Thus far we have been dealing with the question of 
Patrick Henry's education down to the time of his 
leaving school, at the age of fifteen. It was not until 
nine years afterward that he began the study of the 
law. What is the intellectual record of these nine 
years ? It is obvious that they were years unfavorable 
to systematic training of any sort, or to any regulated 
1 Henry Adams, Life of Gallatin, 59, 60. 



16 PATRICK HENRY. 

acquisition of knowledge. During all that time in his 
life, as we now look back upon it, he has for us the 
aspect of some lawless, unkempt genius, in untoward 
circumstances, groping in the dark, not without wild 
joy, towards his inconceivable, true vocation; set to 
tasks for which he was grotesquely unfit; blundering 
on from misfortune to misfortune, with an overflow of 
unemployed energy and vivacity that swept him often 
into rough fun, into great gusts of innocent riot and 
horse-play ; withal borne along, for many days together, 
by the mysterious undercurrents of his nature, into that 
realm of reverie where the soul feeds on immortal fruit 
and communes with unseen associates, the body mean- 
while being left to the semblance of idleness ; of all 
which the man himself might have given this valid 
justification : — 

"I loafe and invite my soul, 
I lean and loafe at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass." 

Nevertheless, these nine years of groping, blundering, 
and seeming idleness, were not without their influence 
on his intellectual improvement even through direct 
contact with books. While still a boy in his teens, and 
put prematurely to uncongenial attempts at shop-keeping 
and farm-keeping, he at any rate made the great dis- 
covery that in books and in the gathering of knowledge 
from books could be found solace and entertainment; 
in short, he then acquired a taste for reading. No one 
pretends that Patrick Henry ever became a bookish 
person. From the first and always the habit of his 
mind was that of direct action upon every subject that 
he had to deal with, through his own reflection, and 
along the broad primary lines of common sense. There 
is never in his thought anything subtle or recondite, — 



WAS HE ILLITERATE? 17 

DO mental movement through the media of books ; but 
there is good evidence for saying that this bewildered 
and undeveloped youth, drifting about in chaos, did in 
those days actually get a taste for reading, and that he 
never lost it. The books which he first read are vaguely 
described as " a few light and elegant authors," ^ prob- 
ably in English essays and fiction. As the years passed 
and the boy's mind matured, he rose to more serious 
books. He became fond of geography and of history, 
and he pushed his readings, especially, into the history 
of Greece and of Rome. He was particularly fasci- 
nated by Livy, which he read in the English transla- 
tion ; and then it was, as he himself related it to Judge 
Hugh Nelson, that he made the rule to read Livy 
through " once at least in every year during the early 
part of his life." ^ He read also, it is apparent, the 
history of England and of the English colonies in 
America, and especially of his own colony; for the 
latter finding, no doubt, in Beverley and in the grave 
and noble pages of Stith, and especially in the colonial 
charters given by Stith, much material for those inci- 
sive opinions which he so early formed as to the rights 
of the colonies, and as to the barriers to be thrown up 
against the encroaching authority of the mother country. 
There is much contemporaneous evidence to show 
that Patrick Henry was throughout life a deeply relig- 
ious person. It certainly speaks well for his intellect- 
ual fibre, as well as for his spiritual tendencies, that his 
favorite book, during the larger part of his life, was 

1 Wirt, 9. 

2 Wirt, 13. This is the passage on which Jefferson, in his extreme 
old age, made the characteristically inaccurate comment : " His biog- 
rapher says, ' He read Plutarch every year.' I doubt if he ever read 
a volume of it in his life." Curtis, Life of Webster, i. 585. 



18 PATRICK HENRY. 

"Butler's Analogy," which was first published in the 
very year in which he was born. It is possible that 
even during these years of his early manhood he had 
begun his enduring intimacy with that robust book. 
Moreover, we can hardly err in saying that he had then 
also become a steady reader of the English Bible, the 
diction of which is stamped upon his style as unmis- 
takably as it is upon that of the elder Pitt. 

Such, I think it may fairly be said, was Patrick 
Henry when, at the age of twenty-four, having failed 
in every other pursuit, he turned for bread to the pro- 
fession of the law. There is no evidence that either he 
or any other mortal man was aware of the extraordi- 
nary gifts that lay within him for success in that career. 
Not a scholar surely, not even a considerable miscella- 
neous reader, he yet had the basis of a good education ; 
he had the habit of reading over and over again a few 
of the best books ; he had a good memory ; he had an 
intellect strong to grasp the great commanding features 
of any subject ; he had a fondness for the study of hu- 
man nature, and singular proficiency in that branch of 
science ; he had quick and warm sympathies, particu- 
larly with persons in trouble, — an invincible propensity 
to take sides with the under-dog in any fight. Through 
a long experience in off-hand talk with the men whom he 
had thus far chiefly known in his little provincial world, 
— with an occasional clergyman, pedagogue, or legisla- 
tor, small planters and small traders, sportsmen, loafers, 
slaves and the drivers of slaves, and, more than all, 
those bucolic Solons of old Virginia, the good-humored, 
illiterate, thriftless Caucasian consumers of tobacco and 
whiskey, who, cordially consenting that all the hard 
work of the world should be done by the children of 



WAS HE ILLITERATE? 19 

Ham, were thus left free to commune together in end- 
less debate on the tavern porch or on the shady side 
of the country store, — young Patrick had learned 
somewhat of the lawyer's art of putting things; he 
could make men laugh, could make them serious, could 
set fire to their enthusiasms. What more he might do 
with such gifts nobody seems to have guessed; very 
likely few gave it any thought at all. In that rugged 
but munificent profession at whose outward gates he 
then proceeded to knock, it was altogether improbable 
that he would burden himself with much more of its 
erudition than was really necessary for a successful gen- 
eral practice in Virginia in his time, or that he would 
permanently content himself with less. 



CHAPTER III. 

BECOMES A LAWYER. 

Some time in the early spring of 1760, Thomas 
Jefferson, then a lad in the College of William and 
Mary, was surprised by the arrival in Williamsburg 
of his jovial acquaintance, Patrick Henry, and still 
more by the announcement of the latter that, in the 
brief interval since their merry-makings together at 
Hanover, he had found time to study law, and had 
actually come up to the capital to seek an admission to 
the bar. 

In the accounts that we have from Henry's con- 
temporaries respecting the length of time during which 
he was engaged in preparing for his legal examination, 
there are certain discrepancies, — some of these ac- 
counts saying that it was nine months, others six or 
eight months, others six weeks. Henry himself told a 
friend that his original study of the law lasted only one 
month, and consisted in the reading of Coke upon 
Littleton and of the Virginia laws.-^ 

Concerning the encounter of this obscure and raw 
country youth with the accomplished men who examined 
him as to his fitness to receive a license to practise law, 
there are three primary narratives, — two by Jefferson, 
and a third by Judge John Tyler. In his famous talk 
with Daniel Webster and the Ticknors at Monticello, 

1 Wirt, 16. 



BECOMES A LAWYER. 21 

in 1824, Jefferson said : " There were four examiners, 
— Wythe, Pendleton, Peyton Randolph, and John Ran- 
dolph. Wythe and Pendleton at once rejected his 
application ; the two Randolphs were, by his impor- 
tunity, prevailed upon to sign the license ; and, having 
obtained their signatures, he again applied to Pendle- 
ton, and after much entreaty, and many promises of 
future study, succeeded also in obtaining his. He then 
turned out for a practising lawyer." ^ 

In a memorandum^ prepared nearly ten years before 
the conversation just mentioned, Jefferson described 
somewhat differently the incidents of Henry's examina- 
tion : — 

" Two of the examiners, however, Peyton and John 
Randolph, men of great facility of temper, signed his 
license with as much reluctance as their dispositions 
would permit them to show. Mr. Wythe absolutely 
refused. Rob. C. Nicholas refused also at first ; but on 
repeated importunities, and promises of future reading, 
he signed. These facts I had afterwards from the 
gentlemen themselves ; the two Randolphs acknowledg- 
ing he was very ignorant of law, but that they perceived 
him to be a young man of genius, and did not doubt 
he would soon qualify himself." ^ 

Long afterward, and when all this anxious affair had 
become for Patrick Henry an amusing thing of the past, 
he himself, in the confidence of an affectionate friend- 
ship, seems to have related one remarkable phase of 
his experience to Judge John Tyler, by whom it was 

1 Curtis, Life of Webster, i. 584. 

2 First printed in the Philadelphia Age, in 1867 ; and again printed, 
from the original manuscript, in The Historical Magazine, August, 
1867, 90-93. I quote from the latter. 

8 Jefferson's memorandum, Hist. Mag. for August, 1867, 90. 



22 PATRICK HENRY. 

given to Wirt. One of the examiners was " Mr. John 
Randolph, who was afterwards the king's attorney-gen- 
eral for the colony, — a gentleman of the most courtly 
elegance of person and manners, a polished wit, and a 
profound lawyer. At first, he was so much shocked by 
Mr. Henry's very ungainly figure and address, that he 
refused to examine him. Understanding, however, that 
he had already obtained two signatures, he entered with 
manifest reluctance on the business. A very short time 
was sufficient to satisfy him of the erroneous conclusion 
which he had drawn from the exterior of the candidate. 
With evident marks of increasing surprise (produced, 
no doubt, by the peculiar texture and strength of Mr. 
Henry's style, and the boldness and originality of his 
combinations), he continued the examination for several 
hours ; interrogating the candidate, not on the princi- 
ples of municipal law, in which he no doubt soon dis- 
covered his deficiency, but on the laws of nature and of 
nations, on the policy of the feudal system, and on gen- 
eral history, which last he found to be his stronghold. 
During the very short portion of the examination which 
was devoted to the common law, Mr. Randolph dis- 
sented, or affected to dissent, from one of Mr. Henry's 
answers, and called upon him to assign the reasons of 
bis opinion. This produced an argument, and Mr. Ran- 
dolph now played off on him the same arts which he 
himself had so often practised on his country customers ; 
drawing him out by questions, endeavoring to puzzle him 
by subtleties, assailing him with declamation, and watch- 
ing continually the defensive operations of his mind. 
After a considerable discussion, he said, ' You defend 
your opinions well, sir ; but now to the law and to the 
testimony.' Hereupon he carried him to his office. 



BECOMES A LAWYER. 23 

and, opening the authorities, said to him : ' Behold the 
force of natural reason ! You have never seen these 
books, nor this principle of the law ; yet you are right 
and I am wrong. And from the lesson which you have 
given me (you must excuse me for saying it) I will 
never trust to appearances again. Mr. Henry, if your 
industry be only half equal to your genius, I augur that 
you will do well, and become an ornament and an 
honor to your profession." ^ 

After such an ordeal at Williamsburg, the young man 
must have ridden back to Hanover with some natural 
elation over his success, but that elation not a little 
tempered by serious reflection upon his own deficiencies 
as a lawyer, and by an honest purpose to correct them. 
Certainly nearly everything that was dear to him in life 
must then have risen before his eyes, and have incited 
him to industry in the further study of his profession. 

At that time, his father-in-law had become the keeper 
of a tavern in Hanover ; and for the next two or three 
years, while he was rapidly making his way to compe- 
tence as a general practitioner of the law in that neigh- 
borhood, Patrick seems to have made this tavern his 
home. It was in this way, undoubtedly, that he some- 
times acted as host, especially in the absence of his 
father-in-law, — receiving all comers, and providing for 
their entertainment ; and it was from this circumstance 
that the tradition arose, as Jefferson bluntly expressed 
it, that Patrick Henry " was originally a bar-keeper," ^ 
or, as it is more vivaciously expressed by a recent 
writer, that " for three years " after getting his license 
to practise law, he " tended travellers and drew corks." ^ 

1 Wirt, 36, 17. 2 Curtis, Life of Webster, i. 584. 

8 McMaster, Hist, of U. 5., i. 489. 



24 PATRICK HENRY, 

These statements, however, are a coarse exaggeration 
of the fact that, while living for a time in the tavern of 
his father-in-law, he had the good sense and the good 
feeling to lend a hand, in case of need, in the busin-ess of 
the house ; and that no more than this is true may be 
proved, not only from the written testimony of survi- 
vors/ who knew him in those days, but from the con- 
temporary records, carefully kept by himself, of his own 
earliest business as a lawyer. These records show that, 
almost at once after receiving his license to practise law, 
he must have been fully occupied with the appropriate 
business of his profession. 

It is quite apparent, also, from the evidence just re- 
ferred to, that the common history of his life has, in an- 
other particular, done great injustice to this period of it. 
According to the recollection of one old man who out- 
lived him, " he was not distinguished at the bar for near 
four years." ^ Wirt himself, relying upon the state- 
ments of several survivors of Patrick Henry, speaks 
of his lingering " in the background for three years," 
and of " the profits of his practice " as being so inade- 
quate for the supply of even " the necessaries of life," 
that " for the first two or three years " he was living 
with his family in dependence upon his father-in-law.^ 
Fortunately, however, we are not left in this case to 
grope our way toward the truth amid the ruins of the 
confused and decaying memories of old men. Since 
Wirt's time, there have come to light the fee-books of 
Patrick Henry, carefully and neatly kept by him from 
the beginning of his practice, and covering nearly his 

1 I have carefully examined this testimony, which is still in manu- 
script. 

2 Judge Winston, MS. 8 Wirt, 18, 19. 



BECOMES A LAWYER. 25 

entire professional life down to old age.^ The first 
entry in these books is for September, 1760 ; and from 
that date onward to the end of the year 1763, — by 
which time he had suddenly sprung into great pro- 
fessional prominence by his speech in " the Parsons' 
Cause," — he is found to have charged fees in 1,185 
suits, besides many other fees for the preparation of 
legal papers out of court. From about the time of his 
speech in " the Parsons' Cause," as his fee-books show, 
his practice became enormous, and so continued to the 
end of his days, excepting when public duties or broken 
health compelled him to turn away clients. Thus it is 
apparent that, while the young lawyer did not attain 
anything more than local professional reputation until 
his speech against the parsons, he did acquire a very 
considerable practice almost immediately after his ad- 
mission to the bar. Moreover, so far from his being a 
needy dependant on his father-in-law for the first two 
or three years, the same quiet records show that his 
practice enabled him, even during that early period, 
to assist his father-in-law by an important advance of 
money. 

The fiction that Patrick Henry, during the first three 
or four years of his nominal career as a lawyer, was a 
briefless barrister, — earning his living at the bar of a 
tavern rather than at the bar of justice, — is the very 
least of those disparaging myths, which, through the 
frailty of human memory and the bitterness of partisan 
ill-will, have been permitted to settle upon his reputa- 
tion. Certainly, no one would think it discreditable, or 
even surprising, if Patrick Henry, while still a very 

1 These fee-books are now in the possession of Mr. William Wirt 
Henry, of Richmond. 



26 PATRICK HENRY. 

young lawyer, should have had little or no practice, pro- 
vided only that, when the practice did come, the young 
lawyer had shown himself to have been a good one. It 
is precisely this honor which, during the past seventy 
years, has been denied him. Upon the evidence thus 
far most prominently before the public, one is com- 
pelled to conceive of him as having been destitute of 
nearly all the qualifications of a good lawyer, excepting 
those which give success with juries, particularly in 
criminal practice : he is represented as ignorant of the 
law, indolent, and grossly negligent of business, — with 
nothing, in fact, to give him the least success in the pro- 
fession but an abnormal and quite unaccountable gift of 
persuasion through speech. 

Referring to this period of his life, Wirt says : " Of 
the science of law he knew almost nothing ; of the 
practical part he was so wholly ignorant that he was 
not only unable to draw a declaration or a plea, but in- 
capable, it is said, of the most common or simple busi- 
ness of his profession, even of the mode of ordering 
a suit, giving a notice, or making a motion in court." ^ 
This conception of Henry's professional character, to 
which Wirt seems to have come reluctantly, was founded, 
as is now evident, on the long-suppressed memorandum 
of Jefferson, who therein states that, after failing in 
merchandise, Patrick " turned his views to the law, for 
the acquisition or practice of which, however, he was 
too lazy. Whenever the courts were closed for the 
winter session, he would make up a party of poor 
hunters of his neighborhood, would go off witLthem to 
the piny woods of Fluvanna, and pass weeks in^htinting 
deer, of which he was passionately fond, sleeping under 
1 Wirt, 18. 



BECOMES A LAWYER. 27 

a tent before a fire, wearing the same shirt the whole 
time, and covering all the dirt of his dress with a hunt- 
ing-shirt. He never undertook to draw pleadings, if he 
could avoid it, or to manage that part of a cause, and 
very unwillingly engaged but as an assistant to*speak 
in the cause. And the fee was an indispensable pre- 
liminary, observing to the applicant that he kept no 
accounts, never putting pen to paper, which was true." ^ 
The last sentence of this passage, in which Jefferson 
declares that it was true that Henry " kept no accounts, 
never putting pen to paper," is, of course, now utterly 
set aside by the discovery of the precious fee-books ; 
and these orderly and circumstantial records almost as 
completely annihilate the trustworthiness of all the rest 
of the passage. Let us consider, for example, Jeffer- 
son's statement that for the acquisition of the law, or for 
the practice of it, Henry was too lazy, and that much 
of the time between the sessions of the courts was 
passed by him in deer-hunting in the woods. Confining 
ourselves to the first three and a half years of his actual 
practice, in which, by the record, his practice was the 
smallest that he ever had, it is not easy for one to un- 
derstand how a mere novice in the profession, and one 
so perfectly ignorant of its most rudimental forms, 
could have earned, during that brief period, the fees 
which he charged in 1,185 suits, and in the preparation 
of many legal papers out of court, and still have been 
seriously addicted to laziness. Indeed, if so much legal 
business could have been transacted within three years 
and a half, by a lawyer who, besides being young and 
incompetent, was also extremely lazy, and greatly pre- 
ferred to go off to the woods and hunt for deer while 
1 Hist. Mag. for 1867, 93. 



28 PATRICK HENRY. 

his clients were left to bunt in vain for him, it becomes 
an interesting question just how much legal business 
we ought to expect to be done by a young lawyer who 
was not incompetent, was not lazy, and had no inordi- 
nate fondness for deer-hunting. It happens that young 
Thomas Jefferson himself was just such a lawyer. He 
began practice exactly seven years after Patrick Henry, 
and at precisely the same time of life, though under 
external circumstances far more favorable. As a proof 
of his uncommon zeal and success in the profession, his 
biographer, Randall, cites from Jefferson's fee-books the 
number of cases in wbich he was employed until he 
was finally drawn off from the law into political life. 
Oddly enough, for the first four years of his practice, 
the cases registered by Jefferson ^ number, in all, but 
504. It should be mentioned that this number, as it 
includes only Jefferson's cases in the General Court, 
does not indicate all the business done by him during 
those first four years ; and yet, even with this allow- 
ance, we are left standing rather helpless before the 
problem presented by the fact that this competent and 
diligent young lawyer — whom, forsooth, the rustling 
leaves of the forest could never for once entice from the 
rustle of the leaves of his law-books — did nevertheless 
transact, during his own first four years of practice, prob- 
ably less than one half as much business as seems to 
have been done during a somewhat shorter space of 
time by our poor, ignorant, indolent, slovenly, client- 
shunning and forest-haunting Patrick. 

But, if Jefferson's charge of professional indolence 
and neglect on the part of his early friend fares rather 
ill when tested by those minute and plodding records of 
1 Randan, Life of Jefferson, i, 47, 48. 



BECOMES A LAWYER. 29 

his professional employments which were kept by Pat- 
rick Henry, a fate not much more prosperous overtakes 
Jefferson's other charge, — that of professional incom- 
petence. It is more than intimated by Jefferson that, 
even had Patrick been disposed to engage in a general 
law practice, he did not know enough to do so success- 
fully by reason of his ignorance of the most ordinary 
legal principles and legal forms. But the intellectual 
embarrassment which one experiences in trying to ac- 
cept this view of Patrick Henry arises from the simple 
fact that these incorrigible fee-books show that it was 
precisely this general law practice that he did engage 
in, both in court and out of court ; a practice only a 
small portion of which was criminal, the larger part of 
it consisting of the ordinary suits in country litigation ; 
a practice which certainly involved the drawing of 
pleadings, and the preparation of many sorts of legal 
papers ; a practice, moreover, which he seems to have 
acquired with extraordinary rapidity, and to have main- 
tained with increasing success as long as he cared for 
it. These are items of history which are likely to 
burden the ordinary reader with no little perplexity, — a 
perplexity the elements of which are thus modestly 
stated by a living grandson of Patrick Henry : '* How 
he acquired or retained a practice so large and con- 
tinually increasing, so perfectly unfit for it as Mr. Jef- 
ferson represents him, I am at a loss to understand." ^ 

As we go further in the study of this man's life, we 
shall have before us ample materials for dealing still 
further and still more definitely with the subject of his 
professional character, as that character itself became 

1 William Wirt Henry, Character and Public Career of Patrick 
Henry, 3. 



30 PATRICK HENRY. 

developed and matured. Meantime, however, the evi- 
dence already in view seems quite enough to enable us 
to form a tolerably clear notion of the sort of lawyer 
he was down to the end of 1763, which may be regarded 
as the period of his novitiate at the bar. It is perfectly 
evident that, at the time of his admission to the bar, he 
knew very little of the law, either in its principles or 
in its forms: he knew no more than could have been 
learned by a young man of genius in the course of four 
weeks in the study of Coke upon Littleton, and of the 
laws of Virginia. If, now, we are at liberty to suppose 
that his study of the law then ceased, we may accept the 
view of his professional incompetence held up by Jef- 
ferson ; but precisely that is what we are not at liberty 
to suppose. All the evidence, fairly sifted, warrants 
the belief that, on his return to Hanover with his license 
to practise law, he used the next few months in the 
further study of it ; and that thenceforward, just so fast 
as professional business came to his hands, he tried to 
qualify himself to do that business, and to do it so well 
that his clients should be inclined to come to him again 
in case of need. Patrick Henry's is not the first case, 
neither is it the last one, of a man coming to the bar 
miserably unqualified for its duties, but afterward be- 
coming well qualified. We need not imagine, we do 
not imagine, that he ever became a man of great learn- 
ing in the law ; but we do find it impossible to believe 
that he continued to be a man of great ignorance in it. 
The law, indeed, is the one profession on earth in which 
such success as he is proved to have had, is impossible 
to such incompetence as he is said to have had. More- 
over, in trying to form a just idea of Patrick Henry, it 
is never safe to forget that we have to do with a man 



BECOMES A LAWYER. 31 

of genius, and that the ways by which a man of genius 
reaches his results are necessarily his own, — are often 
invisible, are always somewhat mysterious, to the rest 
of us. The genius of Patrick Henry was powerful, in- 
tuitive, swift ; by a glance of the eye he could take in 
what an ordinary man might spend hours in toiling for ; 
his memory held whatever was once committed to it ; 
all his resources were at instant command ; his faculty 
for debate, his imagination, humor, tact, diction, elocu- 
tion, were rich and exquisite ; he was also a man of hu- 
man and friendly ways, whom all men loved, and whom 
all men wanted to help ; and it would not have been 
strange if he actually fitted himself for the successful 
practice of such law business as was then to be had in 
Virginia, and actually entered upon its successful prac- 
tice with a quickness the exact processes of which 
were unperceived even by his nearest neighbors. 



CHAPTER IV. 

A CELEBRATED CASE. 

Thus Patrick Henry had been for nearly four years 
in the practice of the law, with a vigor and a success 
quite extraordinary, when, late in the year 1763, he 
became concerned in a case so charged with popular 
interest, and so well suited to the display of his own 
marvellous genius as an advocate, as to make both him 
and his case immediately celebrated. --" 

The side upon which he was retained happened to 
be the wrong side, — wrong both in law and in equity ; 
having only this element of strength in it, namely, 
that by a combination of circumstances there were en- 
listed in its favor precisely those passions of the multi- 
tude which are the most selfish, the most blinding, and 
at the same time the most energetic. It only needed 
an advocate skilful enough to play effectively upon 
these passions, and a storm would be raised before 
which mere considerations of law and of equity would 
be swept out of sight. 

In order to understand the real issue presented by 
" the Parsons' Cause," and consequently the essential 
weakness of the side to the service of which our young 
lawyer was now summoned, we shall need to turn about 
and take a brief tour into the earlier history of Virginia. 
In that colony, from the beginning, the Church of Eng- 
land was established by law, and was supported, like 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 83 

any other institution of the government, by revenues 
derived from taxation, — taxation levied in this case 
upon nearly all persons in the colony above the age 
of sixteen years. Moreover, those local subdivisions 
which, in the Northern colonies, were called towns, in 
Virginia were called parishes ; and accordingly, in the 
latter, the usual local officers who manage the public 
business for each civil neighborhood were called, not 
selectmen or supervisors, as at the North, but vestry- 
men. Among the functions conferred by the law upon 
these local officers in Virginia was that of hiring the 
rector or minister, and of paying him his salary ; and 
the same authority which gave to the vestry this power 
fixed likewise the precise amount of salary which they 
were to pay. Ever since the early days of the colony, 
this amount had been stated, not in money, which 
hardly existed there, but in tobacco, which was the 
staple of the colony. Sometimes the market value of 
tobacco would be very low, — so low that the portion 
paid to the minister would yield a sum quite insuffi- 
cient for his support ; and on such occasions, prior to 
1692, the parishes had often kindly made up for such 
depreciation by voluntarily paying an extra quantity 
of tobacco.^ After 1692, however, for reasons which 
need not now be detailed, this generous custom seems to 
have disappeared. For example, from 1709 to 1714, the 
price of tobacco was so low as to make its shipment to 
England, in many instances, a positive loss to its owner ; 
while the sale of it on the spot was so disadvantageous 
as to reduce the minister's salary to about £25 a year, 
as reckoned in the depreciated paper currency of the 
colony. Of course, during those years, the distress of 
/ 1 Perry, Hist. Coll., i. 12. 



34 PATRICK HENRY. 

the clergy was very great ; but, whatever it may have 
been, they were permitted to bear it, without any sug- 
gestion, either from the legislature or from the vestries, 
looking toward the least addition to the quantity of 
tobacco then to be paid them. On the other hand, from 
1714 to 1720, the price of tobacco rose considerably 
above the average, and did something towards making 
up to the clergy the losses which they had recently 
incurred. Then, again, from 1720 to 1724, tobacco 
fell to the low price of the former period, and of course 
with the same results of unrelieved loss to the clergy.^ 
Thus, however, in the process of time, there had be- 
come established, in the fiscal relations of each vestry 
to its minister, a rough but obvious system of fair play. 
When the price of tobacco was down, the parson was 
expected to suffer the loss ; when the price of tobacco 
was up, he was allowed to enjoy the gain. Probably 
it did not then occur to any one that a majority of the 
good people of Virginia could ever be brought to de- 
mand such a mutilation of justice as would be involved 
in depriving the parson of the occasional advantage 
of a very good market, and of making up for this by 
always leaving him in the undisturbed enjoyment of 
every occasional bad one. Yet it was just this mutila- 
tion of justice which, only a few years later, a majority 
of the good people of Virginia were actually brought to 
demand, and which, by the youthful genius of Patrick 
Henry, they were too well aided in effecting. 

Returning now from our brief tour into a period 

of Virginian history just prior to that upon which we 

are at present engaged, we find ourselves arrived at 

the year 1748, in which year the legislature of Vir- 

1 Perry, Hist. Coll., 316, 317. 



\ 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 35 

ginia, revising all previous regulations respecting the 
hiring and paying of the clergy, passed an act, di- 
recting that every parish minister should " receive an 
annual salary of 16,000 pounds of tobacco, ... to be 
levied, assessed, collected, and paid " by the vestry. 
" And if the vestry of any parish " should " neglect or 
refuse to levy the tobacco due to the minister," they 
should "be liable to the action of the party grieved 
. . . for all damages which he . . . shall sustain by 
such refusal or neglect." ^ This act of the colonial 
legislature, having been duly approved by the king, 
became a law, and consequently was not liable to repeal 
or even to suspension except by the king's approval. 
Thus, at the period now reached, there was between 
every vestry and its minister a valid contract for the 
annual payment, by the former to the latter, of that 
particular quantity of tobacco, — the clergy to take 
their chances as to the market value of the product 
from year to year. 

Thus matters ran on until 1755, when, by reason of 
a diminished crop of tobacco, the legislature passed an 
option law,^ virtually suspending for the next ten 
months the Act of 1748, and requiring the clergy, at 
the option of the vestries, to receive their salaries for 
that year, not in tobacco, but in the depreciated paper 
currency of the colony, at the rate of two pence for 
each pound of tobacco due, — a price somewhat below 
the market value of the article for that year. Most 
clearly this act, which struck an arbitrary blow at the 
validity of all contracts in Virginia, was one which ex- 
ceeded the constitutional authority of the legislature ; 

1 Hening, Statutes at Large, vi. 88, 89. 

2 Ibid. vi. 568, 569. 



36 ' PATRICK HENRY, 

since it suspended, without the royal approval, a law 
which had been regularly ratified by the king. How- 
ever, the operation of this act was shrewdly limited to 
ten months, — a period just long enough to accomplish 
its object, but too short for the royal intervention 
against it to be of any direct avail. Under these cir- 
cumstances, the clergy bore their losses for that year 
with some murmuring indeed, but without any formal 
protest.^ 

Just three years afterward, in 1758, the legislature, 
with even less excuse than before, passed an act ^ similar 
to that of 1755, — its force, however, being limited to 
twelve months. The operation of this act, as affecting 
each parish minister, may be conveyed in very few 
words. In lieu of what was due him under the law for 
his year's services, namely, 16,000 pounds of tobacco, 
the market value of which for the year in question 
proved to be about £400 sterling, it compelled him to 
take, in the paper money of the colony, the sum of 
about £133. To make matters still worse, while the 
tobacco which was due him was an instant and an ad- 
vantageous medium of exchange everywhere, and espe- 
cially in England whence nearly all his merchant sup- 
plies were obtained, this paper money that was forced 
upon him was a depreciated currency even within the 
colony, and absolutely worthless outside of it ; so that 
the poor parson, who could never demand his salary for 
any year until six full months after its close, would 
have proffered to him, at the end, perhaps, of another 
six months, just one third of the nominal sum due him, 
and that in a species of money of no value at all except 

1 Perry, Hist. Coll., i. 508, 509. 

2 Hening, Statutes at Large, vii. 240, 241. 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 37 

in Virginia, and even in Virginia of a purchasing value 
not exceeding that of £20 sterling in England.^ 

Nor, in justification of such a measure, could it be 
truthfully said that there was at that time in the colony 
any general " dearth and scarcity," ^ or any such pub- 
lic distress of any sort as might overrule the ordinary 
maxims of justice, and excuse, in the name of humanity, 
a merely technical violation of law. As a matter of 
fact, the only " dearth and scarcity " in Virginia that 
year was "confined to one or two counties on James 
River, and that entirely owing to their own fault " ; ^ 
wherever there was any failure of the tobacco crop, it 
was due to the killing of the plants so early in the 
spring, that such land did not need to lie uncultivated, 
and in most cases was planted " in corn and pease, 
which always turned to good account " ; ^ and although, 
for the whole colony, the crop of tobacco " was short 
in quantity," yet " in cash value it proved to be the 
best crop that Virginia had ever had " since the settle- 
ment of the colony.^ Finally, it was by no means the 
welfare of the poor that " was the object, or the effect, 
of the law " ; but it was " the rich planters " who, first 
selling their tobacco at about fifty shillings the hun- 
dred, and then paying to the clergy and others their 
tobacco debts at the rate of sixteen shillings the hun- 
dred, were " the chief gainers " by the act.^ 

Such, then, in all its fresh and unadorned rascality, 
was the famous " option law," or " two-penny act," of 

1 Perry, Hist. Coll., i. 467, 468. 

2 As was alleged in Richard Bland's Letter to the Clergy, 17. 

3 Perry, Hist. Coll., i. 467. 

4 Ib.id."^i. 466. 

6 Ihid. i. 465, 466. 

6 Meade, Old Families of Virginia, i. 223. 



38 PATRICK HENRY. 

1758 : an act firmly opposed, on its first appearance in 
the legislature, by a noble minority of honorable men ; 
an act clearly iudicating among a portion of the people 
of Virginia a survival of the old robber instincts of our 
Norse ancestors ; an act having there the sort of frantic 
popularity that all laws are likely to have which give 
a dishonest advantage to the debtor class, — and in Vir- 
ginia, unfortunately, on the subject of salaries due to 
the clergy, nearly all persons above sixteen years of age 
belonged to that class.-^ 

At the time when this act was before the legislature 
for consideration, the clergy applied for a hearing, but 
were refused. \ Upon its passage by the two houses, the 
clergy applied to the acting governor, hoping to obtain 
his disapproval of the act ; but his reply was an un- 
blushing avowal of his determination to pursue any 
course, right or wrong, which would bring him popular 
favor. They then sent one of their own number to 
England, for the purpose of soliciting the royal disal- 

1 In the account here given of these Virginia "option laws," I 
have been obliged, by lack of space, to give somewhat curtly the 
bald results of rather careful studies which I have made upon the 
question in all accessible documents of the period ; and I have not 
been at liberty to state many things, on both sides of the question, 
which would be necessary to a complete discussion of the subject. 
For instance, among the motives to be mentioned for the popularity 
of laws whose chief effects were to diminish the pay of the established 
clergy, should be considered those connected with a growing dissent 
from the established church in Virginia, and particularly with the 
very human dislike which even churchmen might have to paying in 
the form of a compulsory tax what they would have cheerfully paid 
in the form of a voluntary contribution. Perhaps the best modern 
defence of these laws is by A. H. Everett, in his Life of Henry, 230- 
233; but his statements seem to be founded on imperfect infoimation. 
Wirt, publishing his opinion under the responsibility of his gi-^at pro- 
fessional and official position, affirms that on the whole questioi.-, " the 
clergy had much the best of the argument." Life of Henry, 22. 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 39 

lowance of the act. After a full heariug of both sides, 
the privy council gave it as their opinion that the clergy 
of Virginia had their " certain remedy at law " ; Lord 
Hardwicke, in particular, declaring that " there was no 
occasion to dispute about the authority by which the 
act was passed; for that no court in the judicature 
whatever could look upon it to be law, by reason of its 
DQauifest injustice alone." ^ Accordingly, the royal dis- 
allowance was granted. Upon the arrival in Virginia 
of these tidings, several of the clergy began suits against 
their respective vestries, for the purpose of compelling 
them to pay the amounts then legally due upon their 
salaries for the year 1758. 

Of these suits, the first to come to trial was that 
of the Rev. Thomas Warrington, in the County Courl 
of/ Elizabeth City. In that case, " a jury of his owr 
parishioners found for him considerable damages, allow- 
ing on their oaths that there was above twice as muct 
justly due to him as the act had granted ; " ^ but " the 
court hindered him from immediately coming at the 
damages, by judging the act to be law, in which it is 
thought they were influenced more by the fear of giv- 
ing offence to their superiors, than by their own opinion 
of the reasonableness of the act, — they privately pro- 
fessing that they thought the parson ought to have his 
right." ^ 

Soon afterward came to trial, in the court of King 
William County, the suit of the Rev. Alexander White, 
Rector of St. David's parish. In this case, the court, 
instead of either sustaining or rejecting the disallowed 

1 Perry, Hist. Coll., i. 510. 

2 Ibid.' i. 513, 514. 

3 Ibid. i. 49G, 497. 



40 PATRICK HENRY. 

act, simply shirked their responsibility, "refused to 
meddle in the matter, and insisted on leaving the whole 
affair to the jury ; " who being thus freed from all ju- 
dicial control, straightway rendered a verdict of neat 
and comprehensive lawlessness : " We bring in for the 
defendant." ^ 

It was at this stage of affairs that the court of 
Hanover County reached the case of the Rev. James 
Maury, rector of Fredericksville parish, Louisa ; and 
the court, having before it the evidence of the royal 
disallowance of the Act of 1758, squarely "adjudged 
the act to be no law." Of course, under this decision, 
but one result seemed possible. As the court had thus 
rejected the validity of the act whereby the vestry had 
withheld from their parson two thirds of his salary for 
the year 1758, it only remained to summon a spsaial 
jury on a writ of inquiry to determine the damages thus 
sustained by the parson ; and as this was a very simple 
question of arithmetic, the counsel for the defendants 
expressed his desire to withdraw from the case. 

Such was the situation, when these defendants, hav- 
ing been assured by their counsel that all further strug- 
gle would be hopeless, turned for help to the enterpris- 
ing young lawyer who, in that very place, had been for 
the previous three and a half years pushing his way to 
notice in his profession. To him, accordingly, they 
brought their cause, — a desperate cause, truly, — a 
cause already lost and abandoned by veteran and emi- 
nent counsel. Undoubtedly, by the ethics of his pro- 
fession, Patrick Henry was bound to accept the retainer 
that was thus tendered him ; and, undoubtedly, by the 
organization of his own mind, having once accepted 
1 Perry, Hist. Coll., i. 497. 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 41 

that retainer, he was likely to devote to the cause no 
tepid or half-hearted service. 

The decision of the court, which has been referred 
to, was rendered at its November session. On the first 
day of the session in December, the order was executed 
for summoning a select jury " to examine whether the 
plaintiff had sustained any damages, and what." ^ Obvi- 
ously, in the determination of these two questions, much 
would depend on the personal composition of the jury ; 
and it is apparent that this matter was diligently at- 
tended to by the sheriff. His plan seems to have been 
to secure a good, honest jury of twelve adult male per- 
sons, but without having among them a single one of 
those over-scrupulous and intractable people who, in 
Virginia, at that time, were still technically described as 
gentlemen. With what delicacy and efficiency he man- 
aged this part of the business was thus described shortly 
afterward by the plaintiff, of course a deeply interested 
eye-witness : " The sheriff went into a public room full 
of gentlemen, and told his errand. One excused himself 
... as having already given his opinion in a similar 
case. On this, ... he immediately left the room, 
without summoning any one person there. He after- 
wards met another gentleman ... on the green, and, 
on saying he was not fit to serve, being a church 
warden, he took upon himself to excuse him, too, and, 
as far as I can learn made no further attempts to sum- 
mon gentlemen. . . . Hence he went among the vulgar 
herd. After he had selected and set down upon his list 
about eight or ten of these, I met him with it in his 
hand, and on looking over it, observed to him that they 
were not such jurors as the court had directed him to 
1 Maury, Mem. of a Huguenot Family, 419. 



42 PATRICK HENRY. 

get, — being people of whom T had never heard before, 
except one whom, I told liim, he knew to be a party, in 
the cause. . . . Yet this man's name was not erased. 
He was even called in court, and had he not excused 
himself, would probably have been admitted. For I can- 
not recollect that the court expressed either surprise or 
dislike that a more proper jury had not been summoned. 
Nay, though I objected against them, yet, as Patrick 
Henry, one of the defendants' lawyers, insisted they 
were honest men, and, therefore, unexceptionable, they 
were immediately called to the book and sworn." ^ 

Having thus secured a jury that must have been 
reasonably satisfactory to the defendants, the hearing 
began. Two gentlemen, being the largest purchasers 
of tobacco in the county, were then sworn as witnesses 
to prove the market price of the article in 1759. By 
their testimony it was established that the price was 
then more than three times as much as had been esti- 
mated in the payment of paper money actually made to 
the plaintiff in that year. Upon this state of facts, " the 
lawyers on both sides " proceeded to display " the force 
and weight of the evidence ; " after which the case was 
given to the jury. " In less than five minutes," they 
" brought in a verdict for the plaintiff, — one penny 
damages." ^ 

Just how the jury were induced, in the face of the 
previous judgment of that very court, to render this as- 
tounding verdict, has been described in two narratives : 
one by William Wirt, written about fifty years after 
the event ; the other by the injured plaintiff himself, 
the Rev. James Maury, written exactly twelve days 

1 Maury, Mem. of a Huguenot Family, 419, 420. 

2 Ibid. 420. 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 43 

after the event. Few things touching the life of Pat- 
rick Henry can be more notable or more instructive 
than the contrast presented by these two narratives. 

On reaching the scene of action, on the 1st of De- 
cember, Patrick Henry " found," says Wirt, " on the 
court-yard such a concourse as would have appalled any 
other man in his situation. They were not people of 
the county merely who were there, but visitors from 
all the counties to a considerable distance around. The 
decision upon the demurrer had produced a violent fer- 
ment among the people, and equal exultation on the 
part of the clergy, who attended the court in a large 
body, either to look down opposition, or to enjoy the 
final triumph of this hard fought contest, which they 
now considered as perfectly secure. . . . Soon after the 
opening of the court the cause was called. . . . The 
array before Mr. Henry's eyes was now most fearful. 
On the bench sat more than twenty clergymen, the 
most learned men in the colony. . . . The court house 
was crowded with an overwhelming multitude, and sur- 
rounded with an immense and anxious throng, who, not 
finding room to enter, were endeavoring to listen with- 
out in the deepest attention. But there was something 
still more awfully disconcerting than all this ; for in the 
chair of the presiding magistrate sat no other person 
than his own father. Mr. Lyons opened the cause very 
briefly. . . . And now came on the first trial of Patrick 
Henry's strength. No one had ever heard him speak,^ 
and curiosity was on tiptoe. He rose very awkwardly, 
and faltered much in his exordium. The people hung 
their heads at so unpromising a commencement ; the 

1 This cannot be true except in the sense that he had never before 
spoken to such an assemblage or in any great cause. 



44 PATRICK HENRY. 

clergy were observed to exchange sly looks with each 
other ; and his father is described as having almost 
sunk with confusion, from his seat. But these feelings 
were of short duration, and soon gave place to others 
of a very different character. For now were those 
wonderful faculties which he possessed, for the first 
time developed ; and now was first witnessed that mys- 
terious and almost supernatural transformation of ap- 
pearance, which the fire of his own eloque»ce never 
failed to work in him. For as his mind rolled along, 
and began to glow from its own action, all the exuviaB 
of the clown seemed to shed themselves spontaneously. 
His attitude, by degrees, became erect and lofty. The 
spirit of his genius awakened all his features. His 
countenance shone with a nobleness and grandeur which 
it had never before exhibited. There was a lightning 
in his eyes which seemed to rive the spectator. His 
action became graceful, bold, and commanding ; and in 
the tones of his voice, but more especially in his empha- 
sis, there was a peculiar charm, a magic, of which any 
one who ever heard him will speak as soon as he is 
named, but of which no one can give any adequate de- 
scription. They can only say that it struck upon the 
ear and upon the heart, in a manner which language 
cannot tell. Add to all these, his wonder-working 
fancy, and the peculiar phraseology in which he clothed 
its images ; for he painted to the heart with a force that 
almost petrified it. In the language of those who heard 
him on this occasion, ' he made their blood run cold, 
and their hair to rise on end.' 

" It will not be difficult for any one who ever heard 
this most extraordinary m'Sii, to believe the whole ac- 
count of this transaction which is given by his surviving 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 45 

hearers ; and from their account, the court house of 
Hanover County must have exhibited, on this occasion, 
a scene as picturesque as has been ever witnessed in 
real life. They say that the people, whose countenance 
had fallen as he arose, had heard but a very few sen- 
tences before they began to look up ; then to look at 
each other with surprise, as if doubting the evidence 
of their own senses ; then, attracted by some strong 
gesture, struck by some majestic attitude, fascinated by 
the spell of his eye, the charm of his emphasis, and the 
varied and commanding expression of his countenance, 
they could look away no more. In less than twenty 
minutes, they might be seen in every part of the house, 
on every bench, in every window, stooping forward 
from their stands, in death-like silence ; their features 
fixed in amazement and awe ; all their senses listening 
and riveted upon the speaker, as if to catch the least 
strain of some heavenly visitant. The mockery of the 
clergy was soon turned into alarm ; their triumph into 
confusion and despair ; and at one burst of his rapid 
and overwhelming invective, they fled from the house 
in precipitation and terror. As for the father, such was 
his surprise, such his amazement, such his rapture, that, 
forgetting where he was, and the character which he 
was filling, tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks, 
without the power or inclination to repress them. 

" The jury seem to have been so completely bewil- 
dered, that they lost sight not only of the Act of 1748, 
but that of 1758 also ; for, thoughtless even of the ad- 
mitted right of the plaintiff, they had scarcely left the 
bar, when they returned with a verdict of one penny 
damages. A motion was made for a new trial ; but the 
court, too, had now lost the equipoise of their judgment, 



46 PATRICK HENRY. 

and overruled the motion by an unanimous vote. The 
verdict and judgment overruling the motion were fol- 
lowed by redoubled acclamations, from within and with- 
out the house. The people, who had with difficulty 
kept their hands o£E their champion from the moment 
of closing his harangue, no sooner saw the fate of the 
cause finally sealed, than they seized him at the bar ; 
and in spite of his own exertions, and the continued cry 
of order from the sheriffs and the court, they bore him 
out of the court house, and raising him on their shoul- 
ders, carried him about the yard, in a kind of elec- 
tioneering triumph." ^ 

At the time when Wirt wrote this rhapsody, he was 
unable, as he tells us, to procure from any quarter a 
rational account of the line of argument taken by Pat- 
rick Henry, or even of any other than a single topic 
alluded to by him in the course of his speech, — they 
who heard the speech saying " that when it was over, 
they felt as if they had just awaked from some ecstatic 
dream, of which they were unable to recall or connect 
the particulars." ^ 

There was present in that assemblage, however, at 
least one person who listened to the young orator with- 
out falling into an ecstatic dream, and whose senses 
were so well preserved to him through it all that he was 
able, a few days afterward, while the whole occasion 
was fresh in his memory, to place upon record a clear 
and connected version of the wonder-working speech. 
This version is to be found in a letter written by the 
plaintiff on the 12th of December, 1763, and has been 
brought to light only within recent years. 

After giving, for the benefit of the learned counsel by 
1 Wirt, 23-27. 2 ibid. 29. 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 47 

whom the cause was to be managed, on appeal, in the 
general court, a lucid and rather critical account of 
the whole proceeding, Maury adds : " One occurrence 
more, though not essential to the cause, I can't help 
mentioning. . . . Mr. Henry, mentioned above (who 
bad been called in by the defendants, as we sus- 
pected, to do what I some time ago told you of) , after 
Mr. Lyons had opened the cause, rose and harangued 
the jury for near an hour. This harangue turned upon 
points as much out of his own depth, and that of the 
jury, as they were foreign from the purpose, — which it 
would be impertinent to mention here. However, after 
he had discussed those points, he labored to prove ' that 
the Act of 1758 had every characteristic of a good law; 
that it was a law of general utility, and could not, con- 
sistently with what he called the original compact be- 
tween the king and people. . . be annulled.' Hence 
he inferred, ' that a king, by disallowing acts of this 
salutary nature, from being the father of his people, de- 
generated into a tyrant, and forfeits all right to his sub- 
jects' obedience.' He further urged ' that the only use 
of an established church and clergy in society, is to en- 
force obedience to civil sanctions, and the observance of 
those which are called duties of imperfect obligation ; 
that when a clergy ceases to answer these ends, the 
community have no further need of their ministry, and 
may justly strip them of their appointments ; that the 
clergy of Virginia, in this particular instance of their 
refusing to acquiesce in the law in question, had been 
so far from answering, that they had most notoriously 
counteracted, those great ends of their institution ; that, 
therefore, instead of useful members of the state, they 
ought to be considered as enemies of the community ; 



48 PATRICK HENRY. 

and that, in the case now before them, Mr. Maury, in- 
stead of countenance, and protection, and damages, very 
justly deserved to be punished with signal severity/ 
And then he perorates to the following purpose, ' that 
excepting they (the jury) were disposed to rivet the 
chains of bondage on their own necks, he hoped they 
would not let slip the opportunity which now offered, of 
making such an example of him as might, hereafter, be 
a warning to himself and his brethren, not to have the 
temerity, for the future, to dispute the validity of such 
laws, authenticated by the only authority which, in his 
conception, could give force to laws for the government 
of this colony, — the authority of a legal representative 
of a council, and of a kind and benevolent and patriot 
governor.' You '11 observe I do not pretend to re- 
member his words, but take this to have been the sum 
and substance of this part of his labored oration. 
When he came to that part of it where he undertook to 
assert ' that a king, by annulling or disallowing acts of 
so salutary a nature, from being the father of his 
people, degenerated into a tyrant, and forfeits all right 
to his subjects' obedience,' the more sober part of the au- 
dience were struck with horror. Mr. Lyons called out 
aloud, and with an honest warmth, to the Bench, ' that 
the gentleman had spoken treason,' and expressed his 
astonishment, ' that their worships could hear it without 
emotion, or any mark of dissatisfaction.' At the same 
instant, too, amongst some gentlemen in the crowd be- 
hind me, was a confused murmur of ' treason, treason ! ' 
Yet Mr. Henry went on in the same treasonable and 
licentious strain, without interruption from the Bench, 
nay, even without receiving the least exterior notice of 
their disapprobation. One of the jury, too, was so 



A CELEBRATED CASE. 49 

highly pleased with these doctrines, that, as I was after- 
wards told, he every- now and then gave the traitorous 
declaimer a nod of approbation. After the court was 
adjourned, he apologized to me for what he had said, al- 
leging that his sole view in engaging in the cause, and 
in saying what he had, was to render himself popular. 
You see, then, it is so clear a point in this person's opin- 
ion that the ready road to popularity here is to trample 
under foot the interests of religion, the rights of the 
church, and the prerogatives of the crown." ^ 

1 Maury, Mem. of a Huguenot Family^ 418-424, where the entire 
letter isgivenin print for the first time. 



/ 



CHAPTER V. 

FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 

It is not in the least strange that the noble-minded 
clergyman, who was the plaintiff in the famous cause of 
the Virginia parsons, should have been deeply offended 
by the fierce and victorious eloquence of the young advo- 
cate on the opposite side, and should have let fall, with 
reference to him, some bitter words. Yet it could only 
be in a moment of anger that any one who knew him 
could ever have said of Patrick Henry that he was dis- 
posed " to trample under foot the interests of religion," 
or that he had any ill-will toward the church or its 
ministers. It is very likely that, in the many irritations 
growing out of a civil establishment of the church in 
his native colony, he may have shared in feelings that 
were not uncommon even among devout churchmen 
there ; but in spite of this, then and always, to the very 
end of his life, his most sacred convictions and his ten- 
derest affections seem to have been on the side of the 
institutions and ministers of Christianity, and even of 
Christianity in its historic form. Accordingly, both be- 
fore and after his great speech, he tried to indicate to 
the good men whose legal claims it had become his pro- 
fessional duty to resist, that such resistance must not be 
taken by them as implying on his part any personal un- 
kindness. To his uncle and namesake, the Reverend 
Patrick Henry, who was even then a plaintiff in a 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 51 

similar suit, and whom he had affectionately persuaded 
not to remain at the court-house to hear the coming 
speech against the pecuniary demands of himself and his 
order, he said " that the clergy had not thought him 
worthy of being retained on their side," and that "he 
knew of no moral principle by which he was bound to 
refuse a fee from their adversaries." ^ So, too, the con- 
ciliatory words, which, after the trial, he tried to speak 
to the indignant plaintiff, and which the latter has 
reported in the blunt form corresponding to his own 
angry interpretation of them, after all may have borne 
the better meaning given to them by Bishop Meade, 
who says that Patrick Henry, in his apology to Maury, 
" pleaded as an excuse for his course, that he was a 
young lawyer, a candidate for practice and reputation, 
and therefore must make the best of his cause." ^ 

These genial efforts at pacification are of rather 
more than casual significance : they are indications of 
character. They mark a distinct quality of the man's 
nature, of which he continued to give evidence during 
the rest of his life, — a certain sweetness of spirit, 
which never deserted him through all the stern con- 
flicts of his career. He was always a good fighter : 
never a good hater. He had the brain and the temper- 
ament of an advocate ; his imagination and his heart 
always kindled hotly to the side that he had espoused, 
and with his imagination and his heart always went 
all the rest of the man ; in his advocacy of any cause 
that he had thus made his own, he hesitated at no 
weapon either of offence or of defence ; he struck hard 
blows — he spoke hard words — and he usually tri- 

1 Wirt, 24. 

2 Meade, Old Families and Churches of Va., i. 220. 



/ 
52 PATRICK HENRY. 

umphed ; and yet, even in the paroxysms of the combat, 
and still more so when the combat was over, he showed 
how possible it is to be a redoubtable antagonist without 
having a particle of malice. 

Then, too, from this first great scene in his public 
life, there comes down to us another incident that has 
its own story to tell. In all the roar of talk within and 
about the court-house, after the trial was over, one " Mr. 
Cootes, merchant of James River," was heard to say 
that " he would have given a considerable sum out of 
his own pocket rather than his friend Patrick should 
have been guilty of a crime but little, if any thing, in- 
ferior to that which brought Simon Lord Lovat to the 
block," — adding that Patrick's speech had " exceeded 
the most seditious and inflammatory harangues of the 
Tribunes of Old Rome." ^ Here, then, thus early iu 
his career, even in this sorrowful and alarmed criticism 
on the supposed error of his speech, we find a token of 
that loving interest in him and in his personal fate, 
which even in those days began to possess the heart- 
strings of many a Virginian all about the land, and 
which thenceforward steadily broadened and deepened 
into a sort of popular idolization of him. The mys- 
terious hold which Patrick Henry came to have upon 
the people of Virginia is an historic fact, to be rec- 
ognized, even if not accounted for. He was to make 
enemies in abundance, as will appear ; he was to stir 
up against himself the alarm of many thoughtful and 
conservative minds, the deadly hatred of many an old 
leader in colonial politics, the deadly envy of many a 
younger aspirant to public influence ; he was to go on 
ruffling the plumage and upsetting the combinations of 
•1 Maury, Mem. of a Huguenot Fam. 423. 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 53 

all sorts of good citizens, who, from time to time, in 
making their reckonings without him, kept finding that 
they had reckoned without their host. But for all that, 
the willingness of this worthy Mr. Cootes of James 
River to part with his money, if need be, rather than 
his friend Patrick should go far wrong, seems to be 
one token of the beginning of that deep and swelling 
passion of love for him that never abated among the 
mass of the people of Virginia so long as Patrick lived, 
and perhaps has never abated since. 

It is not hard to imagine the impulse which so aston- 
ishing a forensic success must have given to the profes- 
sional and political career of the young advocate. Not 
only was he immediately retained by the defendants in 
all the other suits of the same kind then instituted in 
the courts of the colony, but, as his fee-books show, 
from that hour his legal practice of every sort received 
an enormous increase. Moreover, the people of Vir- 
ginia, always a warm-hearted people, were then, to a 
degree almost inconceivable at the North, sensitive to 
oratory, and admirers of eloquent men. The first test 
by which they commonly ascertained the fitness of a 
man for public office, concerned his ability to make a 
speech; and it cannot be doubted that from the mo- 
ment of Patrick Henry's amazing harangue in the 
" Parsons' Cause," — a piece of oratory altogether sur- 
passing anything ever before heard in Virginia, — the 
eyes of men began to fasten upon him as destined to 
some splendid and great part in political life. 

During the earlier years of his career, Williamsburg 
was the capital of the colony, — the official residence 
of its governor, the place of assemblage for its legisla- 
ture and its highest courts, and, at certain seasons of 



54 PATRICK HENRY. 

the year, the scene of no little vice-regal and provincial 
magnificence. 

Thither our Patrick had gone in 1760 to get per- 
mission to be a lawyer. Thither he now goes once 
more, in 1764, to give some proof of his quality in the 
profession to which he had been reluctantly admitted, 
and to win for himself the first of a long series of 
triumphs at the colonial capital, — triumphs which gave 
food for wondering talk to all his contemporaries, and 
long lingered in the memories of old men. Soon after 
the assembling of the legislature, in the fall of 1764, 
the committee on privileges and elections had before 
them the case of James Littlepage, who had taken his 
seat as member for the county of Hanover, but whose 
right to the seat was contested, on a charge of bribery 
and corruption, by Nathaniel "West Dandridge. For a 
day or two before the hearing of the case, the members 
of the house had " observed an ill-dressed young man 
sauntering in the lobby," apparently a stranger to every 
body, moving "awkwardly about . . . with a counte- 
nance of abstraction and total unconcern as to what was 
passing around him " ; but who, when the committee 
convened to consider the case of Dandridge against 
Littlepage, at once took his place as counsel for the 
former. The members of the committee, either not 
catching his name or not recalling the association at- 
taching to it from the scene at Hanover Court House 
nearly a twelvemonth before, were so affected by his 
rustic and ungainly appearance that they treated him 
with neglect and even with discourtesy ; until, when 
his turn came to argue the cause of his client, he 
poured forth such a torrent of eloquence, and exhibited 
with so much force and splendor the sacredness of the 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 55 

suffrage and the importance of protecting it, that the 
incivility and contempt of the committee were turned 
into admiration.^ However, it appears from the jour- 
nals of the house that, whatever may have been the 
admiration of the committee for the eloquence of Mr. 
Dandridge's advocate, they did not award the seat to 
Mr. Dandridge. 

Such was Patrick Henry's first contact with the 
legislature of Virginia, — a body of which he was soon 
to become a member, and over which, in spite of the 
social prestige, the talents, and the envious opposition 
of its old leaders, he was promptly to gain an ascend- 
ancy that constituted him, almost literally, the dictator 
of its proceedings, so long as he chose to hold a place 
in it. On the present occasion, having finished the 
somewhat obscure business that had brought him be- 
fore the committee, it is probable that he instantly dis- 
appeared from the scene, not to return to it until the 
following spring, when he came back to transact busi- 
ness with the house itself. For, early in May, 1765, a 
vacancy having occurred in the representation for the 
county of Louisa, Patrick Henry, though not then a 
resident in that county, was elected as its member. 
The first entry to be met with in the journals, indi- 
cating his presence in the house, is that of his appoint- 
ment, on the 20th of May, as an additional member of 
the committee for courts of justice. Between that date 
and the 1st of June, when the house was angrily dis- 
solved by the governor, this young and very rural mem- 
ber contrived to do two or three quite notable things — 
things, in fact, so notable that they conveyed to the 
people of Virginia the tidings of the advent among 
1 Wirt, 39-41. 



66 PATRICK HENRY. 

them of a great political leader, gave an historic im- 
pulse to the series of measures which ended in the dis- 
ruption of the British Empire, and set his own name 
a ringing through the world, — not without lively im- 
putations of treason, and comforting assurances that he 
was destined to be hanged. 

The first of these notable things is one which inci- 
dentally throws a rather painful glare on the corrup- 
tions of political life in our old and belauded colonial 
days. The speaker of the house of burgesses at that 
time was John Robinson, a man of great estate, fore- 
most among all the landed aristocracy of Virginia. He 
had then been speaker for about twenty-five years ; for 
a long time, also, he had been treasurer of the colony ; 
and in the latter capacity he had been accustomed for 
many years to lend the public money, on his own pri- 
vate account, to his personal and political friends, and 
particularly to those of them who were members of the 
house. This profligate business had continued so long 
that Robinson had finally become a defaulter to an 
enormous amount ; and in order to avert the shame 
and ruin of an exposure, he and his particular friends, 
just before the arrival of Patrick Henry, had invented 
a very pretty device, to be called a " public loan of- 
fice," — "from which monies might be lent on public 
account, and on good landed security, to individuals," 
and by which, as was expected, the debts due to Rob- 
inson on the loans which he had been granting might 
be " transferred to the public, and his deficit thus com- 
pletely covered."^ Accordingly, the scheme was 
brought forward under nearly every possible advan- 
tage of influential support. It was presented to the 
1 Mem. by Jefferson, in Hist. Mag. for 1867, 91. 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 57 

house and to the public as a measure eminently wise 
and beneficial. It was supported in the house by many 
powerful and honorable members who had not the re- 
motest suspicion of the corrupt purpose lying at the 
bottom of it. Apparently it was on the point of adop- 
tion when, from among the members belonging to the 
upper counties, there arose this raw youth, who had 
only just taken his seat, and who, without any informa- 
tion respecting the secret intent of the measure, and 
equally without any disposition to let the older and 
statelier members do his thinking for him, simply at- 
tacked it, as a scheme to be condemned on general 
principles. From the door of the lobby that day there 
stood peering into the assembly Thomas Jefferson, then 
a law student at Williamsburg, who thus had the good 
luck to witness the debut of his old comrade. " He 
laid open with so much energy the spirit of favoritism 
on which the proposition was founded, and the abuses 
to which it would lead, that it was crushed in its birth." ^ 
He " attacked the scheme ... in that style of bold, 
grand, and overwhelming eloquence for which he be- 
came so justly celebrated afterwards. He carried with 
him all the members of the upper counties, and left 
a minority composed merely of the aristocracy of the 
country. From this time his popularity swelled apace ; 
and Robinson dying four years after, his deficit was 
brought to light, and discovered the true object of the 
proposition." ^ 

But a subject far greater than John Robinson's pro- 
ject for a loan office was then beginning to weigh on 
men's minds. Already were visible far off on the edge 

1 Jefferson's Works, vi. 365. 

2 Mem. by Jefferson, in Hist. Mag. for 1867, 91. 



68 PATRICK HENRY, 

of the sky, the first filmy threads of a storm-cloud that 
was to grow big and angry as the years went by, and 
was to accompany a political tempest under which the 
British Empire would be torn asunder, and the whole 
structure of American colonial society wrenched from 
its foundations. Just one year before the time now 
reached, news had been received in Virginia that the 
British ministry had announced in parliament their pur- 
pose to introduce, at the next session, an act for laying 
certain stamp duties on the American colonies. Accord- 
ingly, in response to these tidings, the house of bur- 
gesses, in the autumn of 1764, had taken the earliest 
opportunity to send a respectful message to the govern- 
ment of England, declaring that the proposed act would 
be deemed by the loyal and affectionate people of Vir- 
ginia as an alarming violation of their ancient constitu- 
tional rights. This message had been elaborately drawn 
up, in the form of an address to the king, a memorial 
to the house of lords, and a remonstrance to the com- 
mons ;^ the writers being a committee composed of gen- 
tlemen prominent in the legislature, and of high social 
standing in the colony, including Landon Carter, Rich- 
ard Henry Lee, George Wythe, Edmund Pendleton, 
Benjamin Harrison, Richard Bland, and even Peyton 
Randolph, the king's attorney-general. 

Meantime, to this appeal no direct answer had been 
returned ; instead of which, however, was received by 
the house of burgesses, in May, 1765, about the time 
of Patrick Henry's accession to that body, a copy of 
the Stamp Act itself. What was to be done about it ? 
What was to be done by Virginia ? What was to be 

1 These documents are given in full in the Appendix to Wirt's 
I^\f^ of Henry, as Note A. 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 59 

done by her sister colonies ? Of course, by the pas- 
sage of the Stamp Act, the whole question of colonial 
procedure on the subject had been changed. While 
the act was, even in England, merely a theme for con- 
sideration, and while the colonies were virtually under 
invitation to send thither their views upon the subject, 
it was perfectly proper for colonial pamphleteers and 
for colonial legislatures to express, in every civilized 
form, their objections to it. But all this was now over. 
The Stamp Act had been discussed ; the discussion was 
ended ; the act had been decided on ; it had become a 
law. Criticism upon it now, especially by a legislative 
body, was a very different matter from what criticism 
upon it had been, even by the same body, a few months 
before. Then, the loyal legislature of Virginia had fit- 
tingly spoken out, concerning the contemplated act, its 
manly words of disapproval and of protest ; but now 
that the contemplated act had become an adopted act — 
had become the law of the land — could that same 
legislature again speak even those same words, without 
thereby becoming disloyal, — without venturing a little 
too near the verge of sedition, — without putting itself 
into an attitude, at least, of incipient nullification re- 
specting a law of the general government ? 

It is perfectly evident that by all the old leaders of 
the house at that moment, — by Peyton Randolph, 
and Pendleton, and Wythe, and Bland, and the rest of 
them, — this question was answered in the negative. 
Indeed, it could be answered in no other way. Such 
being the case, it followed that, for Virginia and for all 
her sister colonies, an entirely new state of things had 
arisen. A most serious problem confronted them, — a 
problem involving, in fact, incalculable interests. On 



60 PATRICK HENRY. 

the subject of immediate concern, they had endeavored, 
freely and rightfully, to influence legislation, while that 
legislation was in process ; but now that this legisla- 
tion was accomplished, what were they to do ? Were 
they to submit to it quietly, trusting to further negotia- 
tions for ultimate relief, or were they to reject it out- 
right, and try to obstruct its execution ? Clearly, here 
was a very great problem, a problem for statesman- 
ship, — the best statesmanship anywhere to be had. 
Clearly this was a time, at any rate, for wise and ex- 
perienced men to come to the front ; a time, not for 
rash counsels, nor for spasmodic and isolated action 
on the part of any one colony, but for deliberate and 
united action on the part of all the colonies; a time" in 
which all must move forward, or none. But, thus far, 
no colony had been heard from : there had not been 
time. Let Virginia wait a little. Let her make no 
mistake ; let her not push forward into any ill-con- 
sidered and dangerous measure ; let her wait, at least, 
for some signal of thought or of purpose from her sister 
colonies. In the mean while, let her old and tried 
leaders continue to lead. 

Such, apparently, was the state of opinion in the 
house of burgesses when, on the 29th of May, a motion 
was made and carried, "that the house resolve itself 
into a committee of the whole house, immediately to 
consider the steps necessary to be taken in consequence 
of the resolutions of the house of commons of Great 
Britain, relative to the charging certain stamp duties in 
the colonies and plantations in America." ^ On thus go- 
ing into committee of the whole, to deliberate on the 
most difficult and appalling question that, up to that 
1 Jour. Va. House of Burgesses. 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 61 

time, had ever come before an American legislature, 
the members may very naturally have turned in ex- 
pectation to those veteran politicians and to those able 
constitutional lawyers who, for many years, had been 
accustomed to guide their deliberations, and who, espe- 
cially in the last session, had taken charge of this very 
question of the Stamp Act. It will not be hard for us 
to imagine the disgust, the anger, possibly even the 
alarm, with which many may have beheld the floor 
now taken, not by Peyton Randolph, nor Richard 
Bland, nor George Wythe, nor Edmund Pendleton, 
but by this new and very unabashed member for the 
county of Louisa, — this rustic and clownish youth of 
the terrible tongue, — this eloquent but presumptuous 
stripling, who was absolutely without training or ex- 
perience in statesmanship, and was the merest novice 
even in the forms of the house. 

For what precise purpose the new member had thus 
ventured to take the floor, was known at the moment 
of his rising by only two other members, — George 
Johnston, the member for Fairfax^ and John Fleming, 
the member for Cumberland. But the measureless au- 
dacity of his purpose, as being nothing less than that 
of assuming the leadership of the house, and of dictating 
the policy of Virginia in this stupendous crisis of its 
fate, was instantly revealed to all, as he moved a series 
of resolutions, which he proceeded to read from the 
blank leaf of an old law book, and which, probably, 
were as follows : — 

" Whereas, the honorable house of commons in Eng- 
land have of late drawn into question how far the gen- 
eral assembly of this colony hath power to enact laws 
for laying of taxes and imposing duties, payable by the 



62 PATRICK HENRY. 

people of this, his majesty's most ancient colony : for 
settling and ascertaining the same to all future times, 
the house of burgesses of this present general assembly 
have come to the following resolves : — 

" 1. Resolved, That the first adventurers and settlers 
of this, his majesty's colony and dominion, brought with 
them and transmitted to their posterity, and all other 
his majesty's subjects, since inhabiting in this, his 
majesty's said colony, all the privileges, franchises, and 
immunities that have at any time been held, enjoyed, 
and possessed, by the people of Great Britain. 

" 2. Resolved, That by two royal charters, granted 
by king James the First, the colonists aforesaid are de- 
clared entitled to all the privileges, liberties, and im- 
munities of denizens and natural born subjects, to all 
intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding and 
born within the realm of England. 

" 3. Resolved, That the taxation of the people by 
themselves or by persons chosen by themselves to rep- 
resent them, who can only know what taxes the people 
are able to bear, and the easiest mode of raising them, 
and are equally affected by such taxes themselves, is 
the distinguishing characteristic of British freedom, and 
without which the ancient constitution cannot subsist. 

*' 4. Resolved, That his majesty's liege people of this 
most ancient colony have uninterruptedly enjoyed the 
right of being thus governed by their own assembly in 
the article of their taxes and internal police, and that 
the same hath never been forfeited, or any other way 
given up, but hath been constantly recognized by the 
kings and people of Great Britain. 

" 5. Resolved, therefore. That the general assembly 
of this colony have the only and sole exclusive righi 



FIRUT TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 63 

and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the in- 
habitants of this colony ; and that every attempt to vest 
such power in any person or persons whatsoever, other 
than the general assembly aforesaid, has a manifest 
tendency to destroy British as well as American free- 
dom. 

" 6. Resolved, That his majesty's liege people, the 
inhabitants of this colony, are not bound to yield 
obedience to any law or ordinance whatever, designed 
to impose any taxation whatsoever upon them, other 
than the laws or ordinances of the general assembly 
aforesaid. 

" 7. Resolved, That any person who shall, by speak- 
ing or writing, assert or maintain that any person or 
persons, other than the general assembly of this colony, 
have any right or power to impose or lay any taxation 
on the people here, shall be deemed an enemy to his 
majesty's colony." ^ 

No reader will find it hard to accept Jefferson's state- 
ment that the debate on these resolutions was " most 
bloody." " They were opposed by Randolph, Bland, 
Pendleton, Nicholas, Wythe, and all the old members, 
whose influence in the house had till then been un- 

1 Of this famous series of resolutions, the first five are here given 
preciseh^ as they are given in Patrick Henry's own certified copy still 
existing in manuscript, and in the possession of Mr. W. W. Henry ; 
but as that copy evidently contains only that portion of the series 
which was reported from the committee of the whole, and was adopted 
by the house, I have here printed also what I believe to have been the 
preamble, and the last two resolutions in the series as first drawn and 
introduced by Patrick Henry. For this portion of the series, I depend 
on the copy printed in the Boston Gazette, for July 1, 1765, and re- 
printed in R, Frothingham, Rise of the Republic, 180 note. In Wirt's 
Life of Henry, 56-59, is a transcript of the first five resolutions as 
given in Henry's handwriting ; but it is inaccurate in two places. 



64 PATRICK HENRY. J 

broken.*' ^ There was every reason, whether of public 
policy or of private feeling, why the old party leaders 
in the house should now bestir themselves, and com- 
bine, and put forth all their powers in debate, to check, 
and if possible to rout and extinguish, this self-conceited 
but most dangerous young man. " Many threats were 
uttered, and much abuse cast on me," said Patrick him- 
self, long afterward. Logic, learning, eloquence, de- 
nunciation, derision, intimidation, were poured from all 
sides of the house upon the head of the presumptuous 
intruder; but alone, or almost alone, he confronted, 
and defeated all his assailants. *' Torrents of sublime 
eloquence from Mr. Henry, backed by the solid reason- 
ing of Johnston, prevailed." ^ 

It was sometime in the course of this tremendous 
fight, extending through the 29th and 30th of May, 
that the incident occurred which has long been familiar 
among the anecdotes of the Revolution, and which may 
be here recalled as a reminiscence not only of his own 
consummate mastery of the situation, but of a most 
dramatic scene in an epoch-making debate. Reaching 
the climax of a passage of fearful invective, on the in- 
justice and the impolicy of the Stamp Act, he said in 
tones of thrilling solemnity, " Csesar had his Brutus ; 
Charles the First, his Cromwell ; and George the Third 
[' Treason,' shouted the speaker. * Treason,' ' treason,' 
rose from all sides of the room. The orator paused in 
stately defiance till these rude exclamations were ended, 
and then, rearing himself with a look and bearing of 
still prouder and fiercer determination, he so closed the 
sentence as to baffle his accusers, without in the least 
flinching from his own position,] — and George the 
1 Mem. by Jefferson, in Hist. Mag. for 1867, 91. 2 ibid. 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. ^^ 

Third may profit by their example. If this be treasoii, 
malie the most of it." ^ 

Of this memorable struggle nearly all other details 
have perished with the men who took part in it. After 
the house, in committee of the whole, had, on the 29th 
of May, spent sufficient time in the discussion, " Mr. 
Speaker resumed the chair," says the Journal, " and Mr. 
Attorney reported that the said committee had had the 
said matter under consideration, and had come to sev- 
eral resolutions thereon, which he was ready to deliver 
in at the table. Ordered that the said report be re- 
ceived to-morrow." It is probable that on the morrow 
the battle was renewed with even greater fierceness 
than before. The Journal proceeds : '^ May 30. Mr. 
Attorney, from the committee of the whole house, re- 
ported according to order, that the committee had con- 
sidered the steps necessary to be taken in consequence 
of the resolutions of the house of commons of Great 
Britain, relative to the charging certain stamp duties in 
the colonies and plantations in America, and that they 
had come to several resolutions thereon, which he read 
in his place and then delivered at the table ; when they 

1 For this splendid anecdote we are indebted to Judge John Tyler, 
•who, then a youth of eighteen, listened to the speech as he stood in 
the lobby by the side of Jefferson. Edmund Randolph, in his History 
of Virginia, still in manuscript, has a somewhat different version of 
the language of the orator, as follows : "'Caesar had his Brutus, 
Charles the First, his Cromwell, and George the Third ' — * Treason, 
Sir,' exclaimed the Speaker ; to which Mr. Henry instantly replied, 
'and George the Third, may he never have either.'" The version 
furnished by John Tyler is, of course, the more effective and char- 
acteristic ; and as Tyler actually heard the speech, and as, moreover, 
his account is confirmed by Jefferson who also heard it, his account 
can hardly be set aside by that of Randolph who did not hear it, and 
was indeed but a boy of twelve at the time it was made. L. G. Tyler, 
Letters and Times of the Tylers, i. 56 ; Wirt, 65. 



" PATRICK HENRY. 

again twice read, and agreed to by the house, 
..n some amendments." Then were passed by the 
nouse, probably, the first five resolutions as offered by 
Henry in the committee, but " passed," as he himself 
afterward wrote, " by a very small majority, perhaps of 
one or two only." 

Upon this final discomfiture of the old leaders, one of 
their number, Peyton Randolph, swept angrily out of 
the house, and brushing past young Thomas Jefferson, 
who was standing in the door of the lobby, he swore, 
with a great oath, that he " would have given five hun- 
dred guineas for a single vote." ^ On the afternoon of 
that day, Patrick Henry, knowing that the session was 
practically ended, and that his own work in it was done, 
started for his home. He was seen " passing along 
Duke of Gloucester Street, . . . wearing buckskin 
breeches, his saddle bags on his arm, leading a lean 
horse, and chatting with Paul Carrington, who walked 
by his side." ^ 

That was on the 30th of May. The next morning, 
the terrible Patrick being at last quite out of the way, 
those veteran lawyers and politicians of the bouse, who 
had found this young protagonist alone too much for 
them all put together, made bold to undo the worst part 
of the work he had done the day before ; they ex- 
punged the fifth resolution. In that mutilated form, 
without the preamble, and with the last three of the 
original resolutions omitted, the first four then remained 
on the journal of the house as the final expression of 
its official opinion. Meantime, on the wings of the 
wind, and on the eager tongues of men, had been borne, 

1 Mem. by Jefferson, Hist. Mag. for 1867, 91. 

2 Campbell, Hist. Va., 542. 



FIRST TRIUMPHS AT THE CAPITAL. 67 

past recall, far northward and far southward, the fiery 
unchastised words of nearly the entire series, to kindle 
in all the colonies a great flame of dauntless purpose ; ^ 
while Patrick himself, perhaps then only half conscious 
of the fateful work he had just been doing, travelled 

1 The subject of the Virginia resolutions presents several difficulties 
which I have not thought it best to discuss in the text, where I have 
given merely the results of my own rather careful and repeated study 
of the question. In brief, my conclusion is this : That the series as 
given above, consisting of a preamble and seven resolutions, is the 
series as originally prepared by Patrick Henry, and introduced by 
him on Wednesday, May 29, in the committee of the whole, and prob- 
ably passed by the committee on that day ; that at once, without 
waiting for the action of the house upon the subject, copies of the 
series got abroad, and were soon published in the newspapers of the 
several colonies, as though actually adopted by the house ; that on 
Thursday, May 30, the series was cut down in the house by the 
rejection of the preamble and the resolutions 6 and 7, and by the 
adoption of only the first five as given above ; that on the day after 
that, when Patrick Henry had gone home, the house still further cut 
down the series by expunging the resolution which is above numbered 
as 5 ; and that, many years afterwards, when Patrick Henry came to 
prepare a copy for transmission to posterity, he gave the resolutions 
just as they stood when adopted by the house on May 30, and not as 
they stood when originally introduced by him in committee of the 
whole on the day before, nor as they stood when mutilated by the 
cowardly act of the house on the day after. It will be noticed, there- 
fore, that the so-called resolutions of Virginia, which were actually 
published and known to the colonies in 1765, and which did so much to 
fire their hearts, were not the resolutions as adopted by the house, but 
were the resolutions as first introduced, and probably passed, in com- 
mittee of the whole ; and that even this copy of them was inaccurately 
given, since it lacked the resolution numbered above as 3, probably 
owing to an error in the first hurried transcription of them. Those 
who care to study the subject further will find the materials in Prior 
Documents, 6, 7; Marshall, Life of Washington, i. note iv. ; Frothing- 
ham, Rise of the Republic, 180 note; Gordon, Hist. Am. Rev., i. 129- 
139; Works of Jefferson, vi. 366, 367; Wirt, Life of Henry, 56-63; 
Everett, Life of Henry, 265-273, with important note by Jared Sparks 
in Appendix, 391-398. It may be mentioned that the narrative given 
in Burk, Hist. Va., iii. 305-310, is untrustworthy. 



68 PATRICK EENRY. 

homeward along the dusty highway, at once the jolliest, 
the most popular, and the least pretentious man in all 
Virginia, certainly its greatest orator, possibly even its 
greatest statesman. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CONSEQUENCES. 

Seldom has a celebrated man shown more indiffer- 
ence to the preservation of the records and credentials 
of his career than did Patrick Henry. While some of 
his famous associates in the Revolution diligently kept 
both the letters they received, and copies of the letters 
they wrote, and made, for the benefit of posterity, care- 
ful memoranda concerning the events of their lives, Pat- 
rick Henry did none of these things. Whatever letters 
he wrote, he wrote at a dash, and then parted with them 
utterly ; whatever letters were written to him, were in- 
variably handed over by him to the comfortable custody 
of luck ; and as to the correct historic perpetuation of 
his doings, he seems almost to have exhausted his in- 
terest in each one of them so soon as he had accom- 
plished it, and to have been quite content to leave to 
other people all responsibility for its being remembered 
correctly, or even remembered at all. 

To this statement, however, a single exception has to 
be made. It relates to the great affair described in the 
latter part of the previous chapter. Of course, it was 
perceived at the time that the passing of the Virginia res- 
olutions against the Stamp Act was a great affair ; but 
just how great an affair it was, neither Patrick Henry 
nor any other mortal man could tell until years had 
gone by, and had unfolded the vast sequence of world- 



70 PATRICK HENRY. 

resounding events, in which that affair was proved to 
be a necessary factor. It deserves to be particularly 
mentioned that, of all the achievements of his life, the 
only one which he has taken the pains to give any ac- 
count of is his authorship of the Virginia resolutions, 
and his successful championship of them. With refer- 
ence to this achievement, the account he gave of it was 
rendered with so much solemnity and impressiveness as 
to indicate that, in the final survey of his career, he re- 
garded this as the one most important thing he ever did. 
But before we cite the words in which he thus indicated 
this judgment, it will be well for us to glance briefly at 
the train of historic incidents which now set forth the 
striking connection between that act of Patrick Henry 
and the early development of that intrepid policy which 
culminated in American independence. 

It was on the 29th of May, 1765, as will be remem- 
bered, that Patrick Henry moved in the committee of 
the whole the adoption of his series of resolutions 
against the Stamp Act ; and before the sun went down 
that day, the entire series, as is probable, was adopted 
by the committee. On the following day, the essential 
portion of the series was adopted, likewise, by the house. 
But what was the contemporary significance of these 
resolutions ? As the news of them swept from colony 
to colony, why did they so stir men's hearts to excite- 
ment, and even to alarm? It was not that the lan- 
guage of those resolutions was more radical or more 
trenchant than had been the language already used on 
the same subject, over and over again, in the discussions 
of the preceding twelve months. It was that, in the 
recent change of the political situation, the significance 
of that language had changed. Prior to the time re- 



C ONSE Q UENCES. 71 

f erred to, whatever had been said on the subject, in any 
of the colonies, had been said for the purpose of dis- 
suading the government from passing the Stamp Act. 
But the government had now passed the Stamp Act ; 
and, accordingly, these resolutions must have been 
meant for a very different purpose. They were a 
virtual declaration of resistance to the Stamp Act ; a 
declaration of resistance made, not by an individual 
writer, nor by a newspaper, but by the legislature of a 
great colony ; and, moreover, they were the very first 
declaration of resistance which was so made.^ 

This it is which gives us the contemporary key to 
their significance, and to the vast excitement produced 
by them, and to the enormous influence they had upon 
the trembling purposes of the colonists at that precise 
moment. Hence it was, as a sagacious writer of that 
period has told us, that merely upon the adoption of 
these resolves by the committee of the whole, men 
recognized their momentous bearing, and could not be 
restrained from giving publicity to them, without wait- 
ing for their final adoption by the house. " A manu- 
script of the unrevised resolves," says William Gordon, 
"soon reached Philadelphia, having been sent off im- 
mediately upon their passing, that the earliest infor- 
mation of what had been done might be obtained by 
the Sons of Liberty. ... At New York the resolves 
were handed about with great privacy : they were ac- 
counted so treasonable, that the possessors of them de- 
clined printing them in that city." But a copy of them 
having been procured with much difficulty by an Irish 
gentleman resident in Connecticut, " he carried them to 
New England, where they were published and circulated 

1 See this view supported by Wirt, in his life by Kennedy, ii. 73. 



72 PATRICK HENRY. 

far and wide in the newspapers, without any reserve, and 
proved eventually the occasion of those disorders which 
afterward broke out in the colonies. . . . The Virginia 
resolutions gave a spring to all the disgusted ; and they 
began to adopt different measures." ^ 

But while the tidings of these resolutions were thus 
moving toward New England, and before they had ar- 
rived there, the assembly of the great colony of Massa- 
chusetts had begun to take action. Indeed, it had first 
met on the very day on which Patrick Henry had intro- 
duced his resolutions into the committee of the whole 
at Williamsburg. On the 8th of June, it had resolved 
upon a circular letter concerning the Stamp Act, ad- 
dressed to all the sister colonies, and proposing that all 
should send delegates to a congress to be held at New 
York, on the first Tuesday of the following October, to 
deal with the perils and duties of the situation. This 
circular letter at once started upon its tour. 

The first reception of it, however, was discouraging. 
From the speaker of the New Jersey assembly came 
the reply that the members of that body were " unani- 
mously against uniting on the present occasion ; " and 
for several weeks thereafter, " no movement appeared 
in favor of the great and wise measure of convening a 
congress." At last, however, the project of Massachu- 
setts began to feel the accelerating force of a mighty 
impetus. The Virginia resolutions, being at last di- 
vulged throughout the land, " had a marked effect on 
public opinion." They were " heralded as the voice of 
a colony . . . The fame of the resolves spread as they 
were circulated in the journals. . . . The Virginia ac- 
tion, like an alarum, roused the patriots to pass similar 
1 Gordon, Hist, of Am. Rev., i. 131. 



CONSEQUENCES. 73 

resolves." ^ On the 8th of July, " The Boston Gazette " 
uttered this most significant sentence: " The people of 
Virginia have spoken very sensibly, and the frozen poli- 
ticians of a more northern government say they have 
spoken treason." ^ On the same day, in that same town 
of Boston, an aged lawyer and patriot ^ lay upon his 
death bed ; and in his admiration for the Virginians on 
account of these resolves, he exclaimed, " they are men ; 
they are noble spirits." ^ On the 13th of August, the 
people of Providence instructed their i*epresentatives in 
the legislature to vote in favor of the congress, and to 
procure the passage of a series of resolutions in which 
were incorporated those of Virginia.*^ On the 15th of 
August, from Boston, Governor Bernard wrote home to 
the ministry: "Two or three months ago, I thought 
that this people would submit to the Stamp Act. Mur- 
murs were indeed continually heard ; but they seemed 
to be such as would die away. But the publishing of 
the Virginia resolves proved an alarm bell to the disaf- 
fected." ^ On the 23d of September, General Gage, 
the commander of the British forces in America, wrote 
from New York to Secretary Conway that the Virginia 
resolves had given '• the signal for a general outcry over 
the continent." ' And finally, in the autumn of 1774, 
an able loyalist writer, looking back over the political 
history of the colonies from the year of the Stamp Act, 
singled out the Virginia resolves as the baleful cause of 

1 Frothingham, Rise of the Republic, 178-181. 

2 Cited in Frothingham, 181. 
8 Oxenbridge Thacher. 

4 Wo7-ks of John Adams, x. 287. 
6 Frothingham, 181. 

6 Cited by Sparks, in Everett, Life of Henry, 396. 

7 Frothingham, Rise of the Republic, 181. 



74 PATRICK HENRY. 

all the troubles that had then come upon the land. 
" After it was known/* said he, " that the Stamp Act 
was passed, some resolves of the house of burgesses in 
Virginia, denying the right of parliament to tax the 
colonies, made their appearance. We read them with 
wonder ; they savored of independence ; they flattered the 
human passions ; the reasoning was specious ; we wished 
it conclusive. The transition to believing it so was 
easy; and we, and almost all America, followed their 
example, in resolving that parliament had no such 
right." 1 

All these facts, and many more that might be pro- 
duced, seem to point to the Virginia resolutions of 
1765 as having come at a great primary crisis of the 
Revolution, — a crisis of mental confusion and hesita- 
tion, — and as having then uttered, with trumpet voice, 
the very word that was fitted to the hour, and that gave 
to men's minds clearness of vision, and to their hearts 
a settled purpose. It must have been in the light of 
such facts as these that Patrick Henry, in his old age, 
reviewing his own wonderful career, determined to make 
a sort of testamentary statement concerning his relation 
to that single transaction, — so vitally connected with 
the greatest epoch in American history. 

Among the papers left by him at his death was one 
significantly placed by the side of his will, carefully 
sealed, and bearing this superscription : " Inclosed are 
the resolutions of the Virginia assembly in 1765, con- 
cerning the Stamp Act. Let my executors open this 
paper." On opening the document, his executors 
found on one side of the sheet the first five resolutions 
in the famous series introduced by him; and on the 
other side, these weighty words : — 

1 Daniel Leonard, in Novanglus and Massachuseitensis, 147, 148. 



CONSE Q UEN CES. 75 

" The within resolutions passed the house of bur- 
gesses in May, 1765. They formed the first opposition 
to the Stamp Act, and the scheme of taxing America 
by the British parliament. All the colonies, either 
through fear, or want of opportunity to form an oppo- 
sition, or from influence of some kind or other, had re- 
mained silent. I had been for the first time elected a 
burgess a few days before ; was young, inexperienced, 
unacquainted with the forms of the house, and the 
members that composed it. Finding the men of weight 
averse to opposition, and the commencement of the tax 
at hand, and that no person was likely to step forth, I 
determined to venture ; and alone, unadvised, and un- 
assisted, on a blank leaf of an old law book, wrote the 
within.^ Upon offering them to the house, violent de- 

1 As the historic importance of the Virginia resolutions became 
more and more apparent, a disposition was manifested to deny to 
Patrick Henry the honor of having written them. As early as 1790, 
Madison, between whom and Henry there was nearly always a sharp 
hostility, significantly asked Edmund Pendleton to tell him "where 
the resolutions proposed by Mr. Henry really originated." Letters 
and Other Wniings of Madison, i. 515. Edmund Randolph is said to 
have asserted that they were written by William Fleming; a state- 
ment of which Jefiferson remarked, *' It is to me incomprehensible." 
Worlcs, vi. 484. But to Jefferson's own testimony on the same sub- 
ject, I would apply the same remark. In his Memorandum, he says 
without hesitation that the resolutions "were drawn up b}' George 
Johnston, a lawyer of the Northern Neck, a very able, logical, and 
correct speaker." Hist. Mag. for 1867, 91. But in another paper, 
written at about the same time, Jefferson said: " I can readily enough 
believe these resolutions were written by Mr. Henry himself. They 
bear the stamp of his mind, strong without precision. That they 
were written by Johnston, who seconded them, was only the rumor 
of the day, and very possibly unfounded." Works, vi. 484. In the 
face of all this tissue of rumor, guesswork, and self-contradiction, the 
deliberate statement of Patrick Henry himself that he wrote the five 
resolutions referred to by him, and that be wrote them "alone, un- 
advised, and unassisted," must close the discussion. 



76 PATRICK HENRY. 

bates ensued. Many threats were uttered, and much 
abuse cast on me by the party for submission. After a 
long and warm contest, the resolutions passed by a very 
small majority, perhaps of one or two only. The alarm 
spread throughout America with astonishing quickness, 
and the ministerial party were overwhelmed. The 
great point of resistance to British taxation was uni- 
versally established in the colonies. This brought on 
the war, which finally separated the two countries, and 
gave independence to ours. 

" Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will 
depend upon the use our people make of the blessings 
which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they 
are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of 
a contrary character, they will be miserable. Right- 
eousness alone can exalt them as a nation. 

" Reader ! whoever thou art, remember this ; and in 
thy sphere practise virtue thyself, and encourage it in 
others. P. Henry." ^ 

But while this renowned act in Patrick Henry's life 
had consequences so notable in their bearing on great 
national and international movements, it is interesting 
to observe, also, its immediate effects on his own per- 
sonal position in the world, and on the development of 
his career. We can hardly be surprised to find, on the 
one hand, that his act gave deep offence to one very 
considerable class of persons in Virginia, — the official 
representatives of the English government, and their 
natural allies, those thoughtful and conscientious colo- 
nists who, by temperament and conviction, were in- 

1 Verified from the original manuscript, now in possession of Mr. 
W. W. Henry. 



CONSEQUENCES. 11 

clined to lay a heavy accent on the principle of civil 
authority and order. Of course, as the official head of 
this not ignoble class, stood Francis Fauquier, the 
lieutenant-governor of the colony ; and his letter to the 
lords of trade, written from Williamsburg a few days 
after the close of the session, contains a striking narra- 
tive of this stormy proceeding, and an almost amusing 
touch of official undervaluation of Patrick Henry : " In 
the course of the debate, I have heard that very in- 
decent language was used by a Mr. Henry, a young 
lawyer, who had not been above a mouth a member of 
the house, and who carried all the young members with 
him." ^ But a far more specific and intense expression 
of antipathy came, a few weeks later, from the Rev- 
erend William Robinson, the colonial commissary of the 
Bishop of London. Writing, on the 12th of August, 
to his metropolitan, he gave an account of Patrick 
Henry's very offensive management of the cause 
against the parsons, before becoming a member of the 
house of burgesses ; and then added : " He has since 
been chosen a representative for one of the counties, 
in which character he has lately distinguished himself 
in the house of burgesses on occasion of the arrival of 
an act of parliament for stamp duties, while the as- 
sembly was sitting. He blazed out in a violent speech 
against the authority of parliament and the king, com- 
paring his majesty to a Tarquin, a Caesar, and a Charles 
the First, and not sparing insinuations that he wished 
another Cromwell would arise. He made a motion for 
several outrageous resolves, some of which passed and 
were again erased as soon as his back was turned. . . . 
Mr. Henry, the hero of whom I have been writing, is 
1 Cited by Sparks, in Everett, Life of Henry, 392. 



78 PATRICK HENRY. 

gone quietly into the upper parts of the country to 
recommend himself to his constituents by spreading 
treason and enforcing firm resolutions against the au- 
thority of the British Parliament." ^ 

Such was Patrick Henry's introduction to the upper 
spheres of English society, — spheres in which his name 
was to become still better known as time rolled on, and 
for conduct Dot likely to efface the impression of this 
bitter beginning. 

As to his reputation in the colonies outside of Vir- 
ginia, doubtless the progress of it, during this period, 
was slow and dim ; for the celebrity acquired by the 
resolutions of 1765 attached to the colony rather than 
to the person. Moreover, the boundaries of each col- 
ony, in those days, were in most cases the boundaries 
likewise of the personal reputations it cherished. It 
was not until Patrick Henry came forward, in the Con- 
gress of 1774, upon an arena that may be called na- 
tional, that his name gathered about it the splendor of 
a national fame. Yet, even before 1774, in the rather 
dull and ungossiping newspapers of that time, and in 
the letters and diaries of its public men, may be dis- 
covered an occasional allusion showing that already his 
name had broken over the borders of Virginia, had 
travelled even so far as to New England, and that in 
Boston itself he was a person whom people were be- 
ginning to talk about. For example, in his Diary for 
the 22d of July, 1770, John Adams speaks of meeting 
some gentlemen from Virginia, and of going out to 
Cambridge with them. One of them is mentioned by 
name as having this distinction, — that he " is an inti- 
mate friend of Mr. Patrick Henry, the first mover of 
1 Perry, Hist. Coll., i, 514, 515. 



CONSE Q UENCES. 79 

the Virginia resolves in 17G5."^ Thus, even so early, 
the incipient revolutionist in New England had got his 
thoughts on his brilliant political kinsman in Virginia. 

But it was chiefly within the limits of his own 
splendid and gallant colony, and among an eager and 
impressionable people whose habitual hatred of all re- 
straints turned into undying love for this dashing cham- 
pion of natural liberty, that Patrick Henry was now in- 
stantly crowned with his crown of sovereignty. By his 
resolutions against the Stamp Act, as Jefferson testifies, 
" Mr. Henry took the lead out of the hands of those 
who had heretofore guided the proceedings of the house, 
that is to say, of Pendleton, Wythe, Bland, Randolph, 
and Nicholas." ^ Wirt does not put the case too 
strongly when he declares, that " after this debate there 
was no longer a question among the body of the people, 
as to Mr. Henry's being the first statesman and orator 
in Virginia. Those, indeed, whose ranks he had scat- 
tered, and whom he had thrown into the shade, still 
tried to brand him with the names of declaimer and 
demagogue. But this was obviously the effect of envy 
and mortified pride. . . . From the period of which we 
have been speaking, Mr. Henry became the idol of the 
people of Virginia."^ 

1 Works of John Adams, ii. 249. 

2 WorTcs of Jefferson, vi. 368. 8 Life of Henry, 66. 



CHAPTER VII. 

STEADY WORK. 

From the close of Patrick Henry's first term in the 
Virginia house of burgesses, in the spring of 1765, to 
the opening of his first term in the Continental Congress, 
in the fall of 1774, there stretches a period of about nine 
years, which, for the purposes of our present study, may 
be rapidly glanced at and passed by. 

In general, it may be described as a period during 
which he had settled down to steady work, both as a 
lawyer and as a politician. The first five years of his 
professional life had witnessed his advance, as we have 
seen, by strides which only genius can make, from great 
obscurity to great distinction ; his advance from a con- 
dition of universal failure to one of success so universal 
that his career may be said to have become within that 
brief period solidly established. At the bar, upon the 
hustings, in the legislature, as a master of policies, as a 
leader of men, he had already proved himself to be, of 
his kind, without a peer in all the colony of Virginia, — 
a colony which was then the prolific mother of great 
men. With him, therefore, the period of training and of 
tentative struggle had passed : the period now entered 
upon was one of recognized mastership and of assured 
performance, along lines certified by victories that came 
gayly, and apparently at his slightest call. 

We note, at the beginning of this period, an event in- 



STEADY WORK. 81 

dicating substantial prosperity in his life : he acquires 
the visible dignity of a country-seat. Down to the end 
of 1763, and possibly even to the summer of 1765, he 
had lived with his family at the public house in Han- 
over, kept by his father-in-law. After coming back 
from his first term of service in the house of burgesses, 
where he had sat as member for the county of Louisa, 
he removed his residence into that county, and estab- 
lished himself there upon an estate called Roundabout, 
purchased by him of his father. In 1768 he returned 
to Hanover, and in 1771 he bought a place in that 
county called Scotch Town, which continued to be his 
seat until shortly after the Declaration of Independence, 
when, having become governor of the new State of Vir- 
ginia, he took up his residence at Williamsburg, in the 
palace long occupied by the official representatives of 
royalty. 

For the practice of his profession, the earlier portion 
of this period was perhaps not altogether unfavorable. 
The political questions then in debate were, indeed, ex- 
citing, but they had not quite reached the ultimate 
issue, and did not yet demand from him the complete 
surrender of his life. Those years seem to have been 
marked by great professional activity on his part, and 
by considerable growth in his reputation, even for the 
higher and more difficult work of the law. Of course, 
as the vast controversy between the colonists and Great 
Britain grew in violence, all controversies between 
one colonist and another began to seem petty, and to be 
postponed ; even the courts ceased to meet with much 
regularity, and finally ceased to meet at all ; while 
Patrick Henry himself, forsaking his private concerns, 
became entirely absorbed in the concerns of the public. 



82 PATRICK HENRY. 

The fluctuations in his engagements as a lawyer, dur- 
ing all these years, may be traced with some certainty 
by the entries in his fee-books. For the year 1765, he 
charges fees in 547 cases; for 1766, in 114 cases; for 
1767, in 554 cases; for 1768, in 354 cases. With the 
next year there begins a great falling off in the num- 
ber of his cases ; and the decline continues till 1774, 
when, in the convulsions of the time, his practice stops 
altogether. Thus, for 1769, there are registered 132 
cases ; for 1770, 94 cases ; for 1771, 102 cases ; for 
1772, 43 cases ; for 1773,7 cases; and for 1774, none.^ 

The character of the professional work done by him 
during this period deserves a moment's consideration. 
Prior to 1769, he had limited himself to practice in the 
courts of the several counties. In that year he began 
to practise in the general court, — the highest court in 
the colony, — where of course were tried the most im- 
portant and difficult causes, and where thenceforward 
he had constantly to encounter the most learned and 
acute lawyers at the bar, including such men as Pendle- 
ton, Wythe, Blair, Mercer, John Randolph, Thompson 
Mason, Thomas Jefferson, and Robert C. Nicholas.^ 

There could never have been any doubt of his supreme 
competency to deal with such criminal causes as he had 
to manage in that court or in any other ; and with re- 
spect to the conduct of other than criminal causes, all 
purely contemporaneous evidence, now to be had, im- 
plies that he had not ventured to present himself before 
the higher tribunals of the land until he had qualified 
himself to bear his part there with success and honor. 
Thus, the instance may be mentioned of his appearing 
in the court of admiralty, "in behalf of a Spanish 
i MS. 2 Wirt, 70, 71. 



BTEADY WORK. 83 

captain, whose vessel and cargo had been libelled. A 
gentleman who was present, and who was very well 
qualified to judge, was heard to declare, after the trial 
was over, that he never heard a more eloquent or argu- 
mentative speech in his life ; that Mr. Henry was on that 
occasion greatly superior to Mr. Pendleton, Mr. Mason, 
or any other counsel who spoke to the subject ; and that 
he was astonished how Mr. Henry could have acquired 
such a knowledge of the maritime law, to which it was 
believed he had never before turned his attention." ^ 
Moreover, in 1771, just two years from the time when 
Patrick Henry began practice in the general court, 
Robert C. Nicholas, then a veteran member of the pro- 
fession, " who had enjoyed the first practice at the bar," 
had occasion to retire, and began looking about among 
the younger men for some competent lawyer to whom 
he might safely intrust the unfinished business of his 
clients. He first offered his practice to Thomas Jef- 
ferson, who, however, was compelled to decline it. Af- 
terward, he offered it to Patrick Henry, who accepted 
it ; and accordingly, by public advertisement, Nicholas 
informed his clients that he had committed to Patrick 
Henry the further protection of their interests,^ — a per- 
fectly conclusive proof, it should seem, of the real re- 
spect in which Patrick Henry's qualifications as a law- 
yer were then held, not only by the public but by the 
profession. Certainly, such evidence as this can hardly 
be set aside by the supposed recollections of one old 
gentleman, of broken memory and unbroken resentment, 
who long afterward tried to convince Wirt that, even at 
the period now in question, Patrick Henry was " wofully 

1 Wirt, 71, 72. 

2 Randall, Life of Jefferson, i. 49 ; Wirt, 77. 



84 PATRICK HENRY. 

deficient as a lawyer," was unable to contend with his 
associates " on a mere question of law," and was " so 
little acquainted with the fundamental principles of his 
profession ... as not to be able to see the remote 
bearings of the reported cases." ^ The expressions here 
quoted are, apparently, Wirt's own paraphrase of the 
statements which were made to him by Jefferson, and 
which, in many of their details, can now be proved, on 
documentary evidence, to be the work of a hand that had 
forgot, not indeed its cunning, but at any rate its ac- 
curacy. 

As to the political history of Patrick Henry during 
this period, it may be easily described. The doctrine 
on which he had planted himself by his resolutions in 
1765, namely, that the parliamentary taxation of unrep- 
resented colonies is unconstitutional, became the avowed 
doctrine of Virginia, and of all her sister colonies ; and 
nearly all the men who, in the house of burgesses, had, 
for reasons of propriety, or of expediency, or of per- 
sonal feeling, opposed the passage of his resolutions, 
soon took pains to make it known to their constituents 
that their opposition had not been to the principle 
which those resolutions expressed. Thenceforward, 
among the leaders in Virginian politics, there was no 
real disagreement on the fundamental question ; only 
such disagreement as to methods as must always occur 
between spirits who are cautious and spirits who are 
bold. Chief among the former were Pendleton, Wythe, 
Bland, Peyton Randolph, and Nicholas. In the van of 
the latter always stood Patrick Henry, and with him, 
Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, the Pages, and George 
Mason. But between the two groups, after all, was sur- 
1 Wirt, 71. 



STEADY WORK. 85 

prising harmony, which is thus explained by one who 
in all that business had a great part and who never was 
a laggard : " Sensible, however, of the importance of 
unanimity among our constituents, although we often 
wished to have gone faster, we slackened our pace, that 
our less ardent colleagues might keep up with us ; and 
they, on their part, differing nothing from us in prin- 
ciple, quickened their gait somewhat beyond that which 
their prudence might of itself have advised, and thus 
consolidated the phalanx which breasted the power of 
Britain. By this harmony of the bold with the cau- 
tious, we advanced with our constituents in undivided 
mass, and with fewer examples of separation than, per- 
haps, existed in any other part of the union." ^ All 
deprecated a quarrel with Great Britain ; all deprecated 
as a boundless calamity the possible issue of indepen- 
dence ; all desired to remain in loyal, free, and honor- 
able connection with the British Empire ; and against 
the impending danger of an assault upon the freedom, 
and consequently the honor, of this connection, all stood 
on guard. 

One result, however, of this practical unanimity 
among the leaders in Virginia was the absence, during 
all this period, of those impassioned and dramatic con- 
flicts in debate, which would have called forth historic 
exhibitions of Patrick Henry's eloquence and of his 
gifts for conduct and command. He had a leading 
part in all the counsels of the time ; he was sent to 
every session of the house of burgesses ; he was at the 
front in all local committees and conventions ; he was 
made a member of the first committee of correspond- 
ence ; and all these incidents in this portion of his life 
1 Jefferson^s WorTcs^ vi. 368. 



86 PATRICK HENRY. 

culminated in his mission as one of the deputies from 
Virginia to the first continental congress. 

Without here going into the familiar story of the oc- 
casion and purposes of the congress of 1774, we may 
briefly indicate Patrick Henry's relation to the events 
in Virginia which immediately preceded his appoint- 
ment to that renowned assemblage. On the 24th of 
May, 1774, the house of burgesses, having received the 
alarming news of the passage of the Boston port bill, 
designated the day on which that bill was to take 
effect — the first day of June — "as a day of fasting, 
humiliation, and prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine 
interposition for averting the heavy calamity which 
threatens destruction to our civil rights, and the evils 
of civil war ; to give us one heart and one mind firmly 
to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury 
to American rights ; and that the minds of his majesty 
and his parliament may be inspired from above with 
wisdom, moderation, and justice, to remove from the 
loyal people of America all cause of danger, from a con- 
tinued pursuit of measures pregnant with their ruin." ^ 
Two days afterward, the governor, Lord Dunmore, 
having summoned the house to the council chamber, 
made to them this little speech : " Mr. Speaker and 
gentlemen of the house of burgesses, I have in my 
hand a paper published by order of your house, con- 
ceived in such terms as reflect highly upon his majesty 
and the parliament of Great Britain, which makes it 
necessary for me to dissolve you, and you are dissolved 
accordingly." ^ At ten o'clock on the following day. 
May 27th, the members of the late house met by 
agreement at the Raleigh Tavern, and there promptly 
1 4 Am. Arch., i. 350. 2 Campbell, Hist. Va., 573. 



STEADY WORK. 87 

passed a nobly-worded resolution, deploring the policy 
pursued by parliament and suggesting the establishment 
of an annual congress of all the colonies, " to deliberate 
on those general measures which the united interests of 
America may from time to time require." ^ 

During the anxious days and nights immediately pre- 
ceding the dissolution of the house, its prominent mem- 
bers held many private conferences with respect to the 
course to be pursued by Virginia. In all these con- 
ferences, as we are told, " Patrick Henry was the 
leader " ; ^ and a very able man, George Mason, who 
was just then a visitor at Williamsburg, and was ad- 
mitted to the consultations of the chiefs, wrote at the 
time concerning him : " He is by far the most powerful 
speaker I ever heard. . . . But his eloquence is the 
smallest part of his merit. He is, in my opinion, the 
first man upon this continent, as well in abilities as 
public virtues." * 

In response to a recommendation made by leading 
members of the recent house of burgesses, a convention 
of delegates from the several counties of Virginia as- 
sembled at Williamsburg, on August 1, 1774, to deal 
with the needs of the hour, and especially to appoint 
deputies to the proposed congress at Philadelphia. 
The spirit in which this convention transacted its busi- 
ness is sufficiently shown in the opening paragraphs of 
the letter of instructions which it gave to the deputies 
whom it sent to the congress. " The unhappy disputes 

1 4 Am. Arch., i. 350, 351. The narrative of these events as given 
by Wirt and by Campbell has several errors. They seem to have been 
misled by Jefferson, who, in his account of the business ( Works, i. 
122, 123), is, if possible, rather more inaccurate than usual. 

2 Campbell, Hist. Va., 573. 

8 Mason to Martin Cockburn, Va. Hist. Reg., iii. 27-29. 



88 PATRICK HENRY. 

between Great Britain and her American colonies, 
which began about the third year of the reign of his 
present majesty, and since, continually increasing, have 
proceeded to lengths so dangerous and alarming as to 
excite just apprehensions in the minds of his majesty's 
faithful subjects of this colony, that they are in danger 
of being deprived of their natural, ancient, constitu- 
tional, and chartered rights, have compelled them to 
take the same into their most serious consideration ; 
and being deprived of their usual and accustomed mode 
of making known their grievances, have appointed us 
their representatives, to consider what is proper to be 
done in this dangerous crisis of American affairs. 

" It being our opinion that the united wisdom of 
North America should be collected in a general con- 
gress of all the colonies, we have appointed the honor- 
able Peyton Randolph, Esquire, Richard Henry Lee, 
George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, 
Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, Esquires, 
deputies to represent this colony in the said Congress, 
to be held at Philadelphia on the first Monday in Sep- 
tember next. And that they may be the better in- 
formed of our sentiments touching the conduct we wish 
them to observe on this important occasion, we desire 
that they will express, in the first place, our faith and 
true allegiance to his majesty King George the Third, 
our lawful and rightful sovereign ; and that we are de- 
termined, with our lives and fortunes, to support him in 
the legal exercise of all his just rights and prerogatives ; 
and however misrepresented, we sincerely approve of a 
constitutional connection with Great Britain, and wish 
most ardently a return of that intercourse of affection 
and commercial connection that formerly united both 



STEADY WORK. 89 

countries ; which can only be effected by a removal of 
those causes of discontent which have of late unhappily 
divided us. . . . The power assumed by the British 
parliament to bind America by their statutes, in all 
cases whatsoever, is unconstitutional, and the source of 
these unhappy differences." ^ 

The convention at Williamsburg, of which, of course, 
Patrick Henry was a member, seems to have adjourned 
on Saturday, the 6th of August. Between that date 
and the time for his departure to attend the congress at 
Philadelphia, we may imagine him as busily engaged in 
arranging his affairs for a long absence from home, and 
even then as not getting ready to begin the long jour- 
ney until many of his associates had nearly reached the 
end of it. 

1 The full text of this letter of instructions is given in 4 Am. Arch., 
i. 689, 690. With this should be compared note C. in Jefferson's 
Works, i. 122-142. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

On the morning of Tuesday, the 30th of August, 
Patrick Henry arrived on horseback at Mt. Vernon, 
the home of his friend and colleague, George Washing- 
ton ; and having remained there that day and night, he 
set out for Philadelphia on the following morning, in 
the company of Washington and of Edmund Pendleton. 
From the jottings in Washington's diary,^ we can so far 
trace the progress of this trio of illustrious horsemen, as 
to ascertain that on Sunday, the 4th of September, they 
" breakfasted at Christiana Ferry ; dined at Chester ; " 
and reached Philadelphia for supper — thus arriving in 
town barely in time to be present at the first meeting 
of the congress on the morning of the 5th. 

John Adams had taken pains to get upon the ground 
nearly a week earlier ; and carefully gathering all pos- 
sible information concerning his future associates, few 
of whom he had then ever seen, he wrote in his Diary 
that the Virginians were said to " speak in raptures 
about Richard Henry Lee and Patrick Henry, one the 
Cicero, and the other the Demosthenes, of the age." ^ 

Not far from the same time, also, a keen-witted Vir- 
ginian, Roger Atkinson, at his home near Petersburg, 
was writing to a friend about the men who had gone to 

1 Washington'' s Writings, ii. 503. 

2 Works of John Adams, ii. 357. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 91 

represent Virginia in the great congress ; and this let- 
ter of his, though not meant for posterity, has some 
neat, off-hand portraits which posterity may, neverthe- 
less, be glad to look at. Peyton Randolph is " a ven- 
erable man ... an honest man ; has knowledge, temper, 
experience, judgment, — above all, integrity ; a true 
Roman spirit." Richard Bland is '' a wary, old, ex- 
perienced veteran at the bar and in the senate ; has 
something of the look of old musty parchments, which 
he handleth and studieth much. He formerly wrote a 
treatise against the Quakers on water-baptism." Wash- 
ington " is a soldier, — a warrior ; he is a modest man ; 
sensible ; speaks little ; in action cool, like a bishop at 
his prayers." Pendleton " is an humble and religious 
man, and must be exalted. He is a smooth-tongued 
speaker, and, though not so old, may be compared to 
old Nestor, — 

'Experienced Nestor, in persuasion skilled, 
Words sweet as honey from his lips distilled.' " 

But Patrick Henry " is a real half-Quaker, — your 
brother's man, — moderate and mild, and in religious 
matters a saint ; but the very devil in politics ; a son of 
thunder. He will shake the senate. Some years ago 
he had liked to have talked treason into the house." ^ 

Few of the members of this congress had ever met 
before ; and if all had arrived upon the scene as late 
as did these three members from Virginia, there might 
have been some difficulty, through a lack of previous 
consultation and acquaintance, in organizing the con- 
gress on the day appointed, and in entering at once 
upon its business. In fact, however, more than a week 
before the time for the first meeting, the delegates 
1 Meade, Old Churches and Families of Va., i. 220, 221. 



92 PATRICK HENRY. 

had begun to make their appearance in Philadelphia ; 
thenceforward with each day the arrivals continued ; by 
Thursday, the 1st of September, twenty-five delegates, 
nearly one half of the entire body elected, were in 
town ; ^ and probably, during all that week, no day and 
no night had passed without many an informal con- 
ference respecting the business before them, and the 
best way of doing it. 

Concerning these memorable men of the first conti- 
nental congress, it must be confessed that as the mists 
of a hundred years of glorifying oratory and of semi- 
poetic history have settled down upon them, they are 
now enveloped in a light which seems to distend their 
forms to proportions almost superhuman, and to cast 
upon their faces a gravity that hardly belongs to this 
world ; and it may, perhaps, help us to bring them and 
their work somewhat nearer to the plane of natural 
human life and motive, and into a light that is as the 
light of reality, if, turning to the daily memoranda made 
at the time by one of their number, we can see how 
merrily, after all, nay, with what flowing feasts, with 
what convivial communings, passed those days and 
nights of preparation for the difficult business they were 
about to take in hand. 

For example, on Monday, the 29th of August, when 
the four members of the Massachusetts delegation had 
arrived within five miles of the city, they were met by 
an escort of gentlemen, partly residents of Philadelphia, 
and partly delegates from other colonies, who had come 
out in carriages to greet them. " We were introduced," 
writes John Adams, " to all these gentlemen, and most 
cordially welcomed to Philadelphia. We then rode into 
1 Works of John Adams, ii. 361. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 93 

town, and dirty, dusty, and fatigued as we were, we 
could not resist the importunity to go to the tavern, the 
most genteel one in America. There we were intro- 
duced to a number of other gentlemen of the city, . . . 
and to Mr. Lynch and Mr. Gadsden, of South Carolina. 
Here we had a fresh welcome to the city of Philadel- 
phia ; and after some time spent in conversation, a cur- 
tain was drawn, and in the other half of the chamber a 
supper appeared as elegant as ever was laid upon a 
table. About eleven o'clock we retired." 

" 30, Tuesday. Walked a little about town ; visited 
the market, the State House, the Carpenters' Hall, 
where the congress is to sit, etc; then called at Mr. 
Mifflin's, a grand, spacious, and elegant house. Here 
we had much conversation with Mr. Charles Thomson, 
who is . . . the Sam Adams of Philadelphia, the life 
of the cause of liberty, they say. A Friend, Collins, 
came to see us, and invited us to dine on Thursday. 
We returned to our lodgings, and Mr. Lynch, Mr. 
Gadsden, Mr. Middleton, and young Mr. Rutledge came 
to visit us." 

"31, Wednesday. Breakfasted at Mr. Bayard's, of 
Philadelphia, with Mr. Sprout, a Presbyterian minister. 
Made a visit to Governor Ward of Rhode Island, at 
his lodgings. There we were introduced to several 
gentlemen. Mr. Dickinson, the Farmer of Pennsyl- 
vania, came in his coach with four beautiful horses to 
Mr. Ward's lodgings, to see us. . . . We dined with 
Mr. Lynch, his lady and daughter, at their lodgings, 
. . . and a very agreeable dinner and afternoon we had, 
notwithstjanding the violent heat. We were all vastly 
pleased with Mr. Lynch. He is a solid, firm, judicious 
man." 



94 PATRICK HENRY. 

" September 1, Thursday. This day we breakfasted 
at Mr. Mifflin's. Mr. C. Thomson came in, and soon 
after Dr. Smith, the famous Dr. Smith, the provost of 
the college. . . . We then went to return visits to the 
gentlemen who had visited us. We visited a Mr. Cad- 
wallader, a gentleman of large fortune, a grand and ele- 
gant house and furniture. We then visited Mr. Powell, 
another splendid seat. We then visited the gentlemen 
from South Carolina, and, about twelve, were introduced 
to Mr. Galloway, the speaker of the house in Pennsyl- 
vania. We dined at Friend Collins'. . . . with Gov- 
ernor Hopkins, Governor Ward, Mr. Galloway, Mr. 
Rhoades, etc. In the evening all the gentlemen of the 
congress who were arrived in town met at Smith's, the 
new city tavern, and spent the evening together. Twenty 
five members were come. Virginia, North Carolina, 
Maryland, and the city of New York were not arrived." 

" 2, Friday. Dined at Mr. Thomas Mifflin's with 
Mr. Lynch, Mr. Middleton, and the two Rutledges with 
their ladies. . . . We were very sociable and happy. 
A^^ter coffee we went to the tavern, where we were intro- 
duced to Peyton Randolph, Esquire, speaker of Virginia, 
Colonel Harrison, Richard Henry Lee, Esquire, and 
Colonel Bland. . . . These gentlemen from Virginia 
appear to be the most spirited and consistent of any. 
Harrison said he would have come on foot rather than 
not come. Bland said he would have gone, upon this 
occasion, if it had been to Jericho." 

" 3, Saturday. Breakfasted at Dr. Shippen's ; Dr. 
Witherspoon was there. Col. R. H. Lee lodges there ; 
he is a masterly man. . . . We went with Mr. William 
Barrell to his store, and drank punch, and ate dried 
smoked sprats with him ; read the papers and our letters 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 95 

from Boston ; dined with Mr. Joseph Reed, the lawyer ; 
. . . spent the evening at Mr. Mifflin's, with Lee and 
Harrison from Virginia, the two Rutledges, Dr. Witlier- 
spoon. Dr. Shippen, Dr. Steptoe, and another gentle- 
man ; an elegant supper, and we drank sentiments till 
eleven o'clock. Lee and Harrison were very high. 
Lee had dined with Mr. Dickinson, and drank Burgundy 
the whole afternoon." ^ 

Accordingly, at 10 o'clock on Monday morning, the 
5th of September, when the delegates assembled at 
their rendezvous, the city tavern, and marched together 
through the streets to Carpenters' Hall, for most of 
them the stiffness of a first introduction was already 
broken, and they could greet one another that morning 
with something of the freedom and good fellowship of 
boon companions. Moreover, they were then ready to 
proceed to business under the advantage of having ar- 
ranged beforehand an outline of what was first to be 
done. It had been discovered, apparently, that the first 
serious question which would meet them after their 
formal organization, was one relating to the method of 
voting in the congress, namely, whether each deputy 
should have a vote, or only each colony ; and if the lat- 
ter, whether the vote of each colony should be propor- 
tioned to its population and property. 

Having arrived at the hall, and inspected it, and 
agreed that it would serve the purpose, the delegates 
helped themselves to seats. Then Mr. Lynch, of South 
Carolina, arose, and nominated Mr. Peyton Randolph, 
of Virginia, for president. This nomination having been 
unanimously adopted, Mr. Lynch likewise proposed INIr. 
Charles Thomson for secretary, which was carried with- 
1 Works of John Adams, ii. 357-364. 



96 PATRICK HENRY. 

out opposition ; but as Mr. Thomson was not a delegate, 
and of course was not then present, the doorkeeper was 
instructed to go out and find him, and say to him that 
his immediate attendance was desired by the congress. 

Next came the production and inspection of creden- 
tials. The roll indicated that of the fifty-two delegates 
appointed, forty-four were already upon the ground, — 
constituting an assemblage of representative Americans, 
which, for dignity of character and for intellectual emi- 
nence, was undoubtedly the most imposing that the 
colonies had ever seen. In that room that day were 
such men as John Sullivan, John and Samuel Adams, 
Stephen Hopkins, Roger Sherman, James Duane, John 
Jay, Philip and William Livingston, Joseph Galloway, 
Thomas Mifflin, CaRsar Rodney, Thomas McKean, 
George Read, Samuel Chase, John and Edward Rut- 
ledge, Christopher Gadsden, Henry Middleton, Edmund 
Pendleton, George Washington, and Patrick Henry. 

Having thus got through with the mere routine of 
organization, which must have taken a considerable time, 
James Duane, of New York, moved the appointment of 
a committee " to prepare regulations for this congress." 
To this several gentlemen objected; whereupon John 
Adams, thinking that Duane's purpose might have been 
misunderstood, " asked leave of the President to request 
of the gentleman from New York an explanation, and 
that he would point out some particular regulations which 
he had in his mind." In reply to this request, Duane, 
" mentioned particularly the method of voting, whether 
it should be by colonies, or by the poll, or by interests." ^ 
Thus Duane laid his finger on perhaps the most sensi- 
tive nerve in that assemblage ; but as he sat down, the 
1 Works of Jchn Adams, ii. 3G5. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 97 

discussion of the subject which he had mentioned was 
interrupted by a rather curious incident. This was the 
return of the doorkeeper, having under his escort Mr. 
Charles Thomson. The latter walked up the aisle, and 
standing opposite to the president, said, with a bow, that 
he awaited his pleasure. The president replied : " Con- 
gress desire the favor of you, sir, to take their minutes." 
Without a word, only bowing his acquiescence, the 
secretary took his seat at his desk, and began those 
modest but invaluable services from which he did not 
cease until the congress of the confederation was merged 
into that of the union. 

The discussion, into which this incident had fallen as 
a momentary episode, was then resumed. "After a 
short silence," says the man who was thus inducted into 
ofRce, " Patrick Henry arose to speak. I did not then 
know him. He was dressed in a suit of parson's gray, 
and from his appearance I took him for a Presbyterian 
clergyman, used to haranguing the people. He ob- 
served that we were here met in a time and on an 
occasion of great difficulty and distress ; that our public 
circumstances were like those of a man in deep embar- 
rassment and trouble, who had called his friends together 
to devise what was best to be done for his relief ; — one 
would propose one thing, and another a different one, 
whilst perhaps a third v/ould think of something better 
suited to his unhappy circumstances, which he would em- 
brace, and think no more of the rejected schemes with 
which he would have nothing to do." ^ 

1 Am. Quarterly Review, i. 30, whence it is quoted in Works of John 
Adams, iii. 29, 30, note. As regards the value of this testimony of 
Charles Thomson, we should note that it is something alleged to have 
been said by him at the age of ninety, in a conversation with a friend, 
and by the latter reported to the author of the article above cited in 
the Am. Quart. Rev. 



98 PATRICK HENRY. 

Such is the rather meagre account, as given by one 
ear- witness, of Patrick Henry's first speech in the con- 
gress of 1774. From another ear-witness, we have 
another account, likewise very meagre, but giving, prob- 
ably, a somewhat more adequate idea of the drift and 
point of what he said: "Mr. Henry then arose, and 
said this was the first general congress which had ever 
happened; that no former congress could be a prece- 
dent ; that we should have occasion for more general 
congresses, and therefore that a precedent ought to be 
established now ; that it would be a great injustice if a 
little colony should have the same weight in the coun- 
cils of America as a great one ; and therefore he was 
for a committee." ^ The notable thing about both 
these accounts is that they agree in showing Patrick 
Henry's first speech in congress to have been not, as 
has been represented, an impassioned portrayal of 
" general grievances," but a plain and quiet handling of 
a mere " detail of business." In the discussion he was 
followed by John Sullivan, who merely observed that 
" a little colony had its all at stake as well as a great 
oue." The floor was then taken by John Adams, who 
seems to have made a searching and vigorous argument, 
— exhibiting the great ditficulties attending any possi- 
ble conclusion to which they might come respecting the 
method of voting. At the end of his speech, appar- 
ently, the house adjourned, to resume the consideration 
of the subject on the following day.^ 

1 Works of John Adams, ii. 365. 

2 It seems to me that the second paragraph on page 366 of volume 
ii. of the Worhs of John Adams must be taken as his memorandum 
of his own speech ; and that what follows on that page, as well as on 
page 367, and the first half of page 368, is erroneously understood by 
the editor as belonging to the first day's debate. It must have been 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRRSS 99 

AccordiDgly, on Tuesday morning the discussion v^as 
continued^ and at far greater length than ou the pre- 
vious day ; the first speaker being Patrick Henr v )aii 
self, who seems now to have gone into the subject fai' 
more broadly, and with much greater intensity of 
thought, than in his first speech. " Government," said 
he, "is dissolved. Fleets and armies and the present 
state of things show that government is dissolved. 
Where are your landmarks, your boundaries of colo- 
nies? We are in a state of nature, sir. I did pro- 
pose that a scale should be laid down ; that part of 
North America which was once Massachusetts Bay, 
and that part which was once Virginia, ought to be con- 
sidered as having a weight. Will not people complain, 
— ' Ten thousand Virginians have not outweighed one 
thousand others ' ? 

" I will submit, however ; I am determined to submit, 
if I am overruled. 

" A worthy gentleman near me [John Adams] 
seemed to admit the necessity of obtaining a more ad- 
equate representation. 

*' I hope future ages will quote our proceedings with 
applause. It is one of the great duties of the demo- 
cratical part of the constitution to keep itself pure. It 
is known in my province that some other colonies are 
not so numerous or rich as they are. I am for giving 
all the satisfaction in my power. 

" The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvani- 
ans, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. 
I am not a Virginian, but an American. 

an outline of the second day's debate. This is proved partly by the 
fact that it mentions Lee as taking part in the debate ; but according 
to the journal, Lee did not appear in congress until the second day. 
4 Am. Arch., i. 898. 



lQ(j PATRICK HENRY. 

-^ Slaves ne to be thrown out of the question ; and if 
the freemen can be represented according to their num- 
bers, I am satisfied." 

The subject was then debated at length by Lynch, 
Rutledge, Ward, Richard Henry Lee, Gadsden, Bland, 
and Pendleton, when Patrick Henry again rose : — 

" I agree that authentic accounts cannot be had, if 
by authenticity is meant attestations of officers of the 
crown. I go upon the supposition that government is 
at an end. All distinctions are thrown down. All 
America is thrown into one mass. We must aim at 
the minutiae of rectitude." 

Patrick Henry was then followed by John Jay, who 
seems to have closed the debate, and whose allusion to 
what his immediate predecessor had said gives us some 
hint of the variations in revolutionary opinion then pre- 
vailing among the members, as well as of the advanced 
position always taken by Patrick Henry : " Could I 
suppose that we came to frame an American constitu- 
tion, instead of endeavoring to correct the faults in an 
old one, I can't yet think that all government is at an 
end. The measure of arbitrary power is not full ; and 
I think it must run over, before we undertake to frame 
a new constitution. To the virtue, spirit, and abilities 
of Virginia we owe much. I should always, therefore, 
from inclination as well as justice, be for giving Vir- 
ginia its full weight. I am not clear that we ought not 
to be bound by a majority, though ever so small ; but I 
only mentioned it as a matter of danger, worthy of con- 
sideration." ^ 

Of this entire debate, the most significant issue is 
indicated by the following passage from the journal for 
1 Works of John Adams, ii. 366-368. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 101 

Tuesday, the 6th of September : " Resolved^ that in 
determining questions in this congress, each colony or 
province shall have one vote ; the congress not being 
possessed of, or at present able to procure, proper 
materials for ascertaining the importance of each col- 
ony."i 

So far as it is now possible to ascertain it, such was 
Patrick Henry's part in the first discussion held by the 
first continental congress, — a discussion occupying 
parts of two days, and relating purely to methods of 
procedure by that body, and not to the matters of griev- 
ance between the colonies and Great Britain. We have 
a right to infer something as to the quality of the first 
impression made upon his associates by Patrick Henry, 
in consequence of his three speeches in this discussion, 
from the fact that when, at the close of it, an order was 
taken for the appointment of two grand committees, 
one " to state the rights of the colonies," the other " to 
examine and report the several statutes which affect 
the trade and manufactures of the colonies," Patrick 
Henry was chosen to represent Virginia on the latter 
committee,^ — a position not likely to have been se- 
lected for a man who, however eloquent he may have 
seemed, had not also shown business-like and lawyer- 
like qualities. 

The congress kept steadily at work from Monday, 
the 5th of September, to Wednesday, the 26th of Oc- 
tober, — just seven weeks and two days. Though not a 
legislative body, it resembled all legislative bodies then 
in existence, in the fact that it sat with closed doors, 
and that it gave to the public only such results as it 

1 4 Am. Arch., i. 898, 899. 

2 Ibid. i. 899. 



102 PATRICK HENRY. 

chose to give. Upon the difficult and exciting sub- 
jects which came before it, there were, very likely, 
many splendid passages of debate ; and we cannot doubt 
that in all these discussions Patrick Henry took his 
usually conspicuous and powerful share. Yet no offi- 
cial record was kept of what was said by any member ; 
and it is only from the hurried private memoranda of 
John Adams that we are able to learn anything more 
respecting Patrick Henry's participation in the debates 
of those seven weeks. 

It was on the 28th of September that Joseph Gallo- 
way brought forward his celebrated plan for a per- 
manent reconciliation between Great Britain and her 
colonies. This was simply a scheme for what we 
should now call home-rule, on a basis of colonial con- 
federation, with an American parliament to be elected 
every three years by the legislatures of the several 
colonies, and with a governor-general to be appointed 
by the crown. The plan came very near to adoption.^ 
The member who introduced it was a man of great 
ability and great influence ; it was supported by James 
Duaue and John Jay ; it was pronounced by Edward 
Rutledge to be " almost a perfect plan ; " and in the 
final trial it was lost only by a vote of six colonies to 
five. Could it have been adopted, the disruption of the 
British empire would certainly have been averted for 
that epoch, and, as an act of violence and of unkind- 
ness, would perhaps have been averted forever ; while 
the thirteen English colonies would have remained 
English colonies, without ceasing to be free. 

The plan, however, was distrusted and resisted, with 
stern and implacable hostility, by the more radical 
1 The text of Galloway's plan is given in 4 Am. Arch., i. 905, 906. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 103 

members of the congress, particularly by those from 
Massachusetts and Virginia ; and an outline of what 
Patrick Henry said in his assault upon it, delivered on 
the very day on which it was introduced, is thus given 
by John Adams : — 

" The original constitution of the colonies was founded 
on the broadest and most generous base. The regula- 
tion of our trade was compensation enough for all the 
protection we ever experienced from her. 

" We shall liberate our constituents from a corrupt 
house of commons, but throw them into the arms of 
an American legislature, that may be bribed by that 
nation which avows, in the face of the world, that 
bribery is a part of her system of government. 

" Before we are obliged to pay taxes as they do, let 
us be as free as they ; let us have our trade open with 
all the world. 

" We are not to consent by the representatives of 
representatives. 

" I am inclined to think the present measures lead to 
war." ^ 

The only other trace to be discovered of Patrick 
Henry's activity in the debates of this congress be- 
longs to the day just before the one on which Gallo- 
way's plan was introduced. The subject then under 
discussion was the measure for non-importation and non- 
exportation. On considerations of forbearance, Henry 
tried to have the date for the application of this meas- 
ure postponed from November to December, saying, 
characteristically, " We don't mean to hurt even our 
rascals, if we have any." ^ 

1 Worhs of John Adams, ii. 390. 

2 Ibid. ii. 385. 



104 PATRICK HENRY. 

Probably the most notable work done by this con- 
gress was its preparation of those masterly state papers 
in which it interpreted and affirmed the constitutional 
attitude of the colonies, and which, when laid upon the 
table of the House of Lords, drew forth the splendid 
encomium of Chatham.-^ In many respects the most 
important, and certainly the most difficult, of these 
state papers, was the address to the king. The motion 
for such an address was made on the 1st of October. 
On the same day the preparation of it was intrusted to 
a very able committee, consisting of Richard Henry Lee, 
John Adams, Thomas Johnson, Patrick Henry, and John 
Rutledge; and on the 21st of October the committee 
was strengthened by the accession of John Dickinson, 
who had entered the congress but four days before.* 
Precisely what part Patrick Henry took in the prepara- 
tion of this address is not now known ; but there is 
no evidence whatever for the assertion® that the first 
draft, which, when submitted to congress, proved to be 
unsatisfactory, was the work of Patrick Henry. That 
draft, as is now abundantly proved, was prepared by 
the chairman of the committee, Richard Henry Lee, but 
after full instructions from congress and from the com- 
mittee itself.^ In its final form, the address was largely 
moulded by the expert and gentle hand of John Dickin- 
son.^ No one can doubt, however, that even though 
Patrick Henry may have contributed nothing to the 
literary execution of this fine address, he was not in- 

1 Hansard, PaH. Hist., 155, 156 (note); 157. 

2 4 Am. Arch., i. 906, 907, 927. 

3 Wirt, 109. 

4 WorTcs of John Adams, x. 79; ii. 396, note; Lee's Life of R. H- 
Lee, i. 116-118, 270-272. 

fi Political Writings, ii. 19-29. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 105 

active in its construction,^ and that he was not likely 
to have suggested any abatement from its free and 
manly spirit. 

The only other committee on which he is known to 
have served during this congress was one to which his 
name was added on the 19 th of September, — " the 
committee appointed to state the rights of the col- 
onies," ^ an object, certainly, far better suited to the 
peculiarities of his talents and of his temper than that 
of the committee for the conciliation of a king. 

Of course, the one gift in which Patrick Henry ex- 
celled all other men of his time and neighborhood was 
the gift of eloquence ; and it is not to be doubted that 
in many other forms of effort, involving, for example, 
plain sense, practical experience, and knowledge of 
details, he was often equalled, and perhaps even sur- 
passed, by men who had not a particle of his genius for 
oratory. This fact, the analogue of which is common 
in the history of all men of genius, seems to be the basis 
of an anecdote which, possibly, is authentic, and which, 
at any rate, has been handed down by one who was 
always a devoted friend ^ of the great orator. It is said 
that, after Henry and Lee had made their first speeches, 
Samuel Chase of Maryland was so impressed by their 
superiority that he walked over to the seat of one of 
his colleagues and said : " We might as well go home ; 
we are not able to legislate with these men." But some 
days afterward, perhaps in the midst of the work of the 
committee on the statutes affecting trade and commerce, 

1 Thus John Adams, on 11th October, writes: "Spent the evening 
with Mr. Henry at his lodgings, consulting about a petition to the 
king." Works, ii. 396. 

2 4 Am. Arch., i. 904. 

8 Judge John Tyler, in Wirt, 109, note. 



106 PATRICK HENRY. 

the same member was able to relieve himself by the re- 
mark : " Well, after all, I find these are but men, and, 
in mere matters of business, but very common men." ^ 

It seems hardly right to pass from these studies 
upon the first continental congress, and upon Patrick 
Henry's part in it, without some reference to Wirt's 
treatment of the subject in a book which has now been, 
for nearly three quarters of a century, the chief source 
of public information concerning Patrick Henry. There 
is perhaps no other portion of this book which is less 
worthy of respect.^ It is not only unhistoric in nearly 
all the very few alleged facts of the narrative, but it 
does great injustice to Patrick Henry by representing 
him virtually as a mere declaimer, as an ill-instructed 
though most impressive rhapsodist in debate, and as with- 
out any claim to the character of a serious statesman, 
or even of a man of affairs ; while, by the somewhat 
grandiose and melodramatic tone of some portion of the 
narrative, it is singularly out of harmony with the real 
tone of that famous assemblage, — an assemblage of 
Anglo-Saxon lawyers, politicians, and men of business, 
who were probably about as practical and sober-minded 
a company as had been got together on any manly busi- 
ness since that of Runnymede. 

Wirt begins by convening his congress one day too 
soon, namely, on the 4th of September, which was Sun- 
day ; and he represents the members as " personally 
strangers" to one another, and as sitting, after their 
preliminary organization, in a " long and deep silence," 
the members meanwhile looking around upon each other 

1 For another form of this tradition, see Curtis' s Life of Webster ^ 
i. 588. 

2 Pages 105-U3. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 107 

with a sort of helpless anxiety, " every individual " 
being reluctant " to open a business so fearfully momen- 
tous." But " in the midst of this deep and death-like 
silence, and just when it was beginning to become pain- 
fully embarrassing, Mr. Henry arose slowly, as if borne 
down by the weight of the subject. After faltering, ac- 
cording to his habit, through a most impressive ex- 
ordium, in which he merely echoed back the conscious- 
ness of every other heart in deploring his inability to 
do justice to the occasion, he launched gradually into a 
recital of the colonial wrongs. Rising, as he advanced, 
with the grandeur of his subject, and glowing at length 
with all the majesty and expectation of the occasion, 
his speech seemed more than that of mortal man. Even 
those who had heard him in all his glory in the house 
of burgesses of Virginia were astonished at the manner 
in which his talents seemed to swell and expand them- 
selves to fill the vaster theatre in which he was now 
placed. There was no rant, no rhapsody, no labor of 
the understanding, no straining of the voice, no confu- 
sion of the utterance. His countenance was erect, his 
eye steady, his action noble, his enunciation clear and 
firm, his mind poised on its centre, his views of his sub- 
ject comprehensive and great, and his imagination cor- 
uscating with a magnificence and a variety which struck 
even that assembly with amazement and awe. He sat 
down amidst murmurs of astonishment and applause ; 
and, as he had been before proclaimed the greatest 
orator of Virginia, he was now on every hand admitted 
to be the first orator of America." ^ 

This great speech from Patrick Henry, which cer- 
tainly was not made on that occasion, and probably was 
1 Wirt, 105, 106. 



108 PATRICK HENRY. 

never made at all, Wirt causes to be followed by a great 
speech from Richard Henry Lee, although the journal 
could have informed him that Lee was not even in the 
house on that day. Moreover, he makes Patrick Henry 
to be the author of the unfortunate first draft of the ad- 
dress to the king, — a document which was written by 
another man ; and on this fiction he founds two or three 
pages of lamentation and of homily with reference to 
Patrick Henry's inability to express himself in writing, 
in consequence of " his early neglect of literature." Fi- 
nally, he thinks it due " to historic truth to record that the 
superior powers " of Patrick Henry " were manifested 
only in debate ; " and that, although he and Richard 
Henry Lee " took the undisputed lead in the assembly," 
*' during the first days of the session, while general 
grievances were the topic," yet they were both " com- 
pletely thrown into the shade " " when called down 
from the heights of declamation to that severer test of 
intellectual excellence, the details of business," — the 
writer here seeming to forget that " general grievances " 
were not the topic " during the first days of the session," 
and that the very speeches by which these two men are 
said to have made their mark there, were speeches on 
mere rules of the house relating to methods of proced- 
ure.^ 

Since the death of Wirt, and the publication of the 
biography of him by Kennedy, it has been possible 
for us to ascertain just how the genial author of " The 
Life and Character of Patrick Henry " came to be so 
gravely misled in this part of his book. " The whole 
passage relative to the first congress " appears to have 

1 The exact rules under debate during those first two days are given 
in 4 Am. Arch., i. 898, 899. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 109 

been composed from data furnished bj Jefferson, who, 
however, was not a member of that Congress ; and in 
the original manuscript the very words of Jefferson 
were surrounded with quotation marks, and were at- 
tributed to him by name. When, however, that great 
man, who loved not to send out calumnies into the 
world with his own name attached to them, came to in- 
spect this portion of Wirt's manuscript, he was moved 
by his usual prudence to write such a letter as drew 
from Wirt the following consolatory assurance : " Your 
repose shall never be endangered by any act of mine, if 
I can help it. Immediately on the receipt of your last 
letter, and before the manuscript had met any other 
eye, I wrote over again the whole passage relative to 
the first congress, omitting the marks of quotation, and 
removing your name altogether from the communica- 
tion." 1 

The final adjournment of the first continental con- 
gress, it will be remembered, did not occur until its 
members had spent together more than seven weeks of 
the closest intellectual intimacy. Surely, no mere de- 
claimer however enchanting, no sublime babbler on the 
rights of man, no political charlatan strutting about for 
the display of his preternatural gift of articulate wind, 
could have grappled in keen debate, for all those 
weeks, on the greatest of earthly subjects, with fifty of 
the ablest men in America, without exposing to their 
view all his own intellectual poverty, and without los- 
ing the very last shred of their intellectual respect for 
him. Whatever may have been the impression formed 
of Patrick Henry as a mere orator by his associates in 
that congress, nothing can be plainer than that those 
1 Kennedy, Mem. of Wirt, i. 364. 



110 PATRICK HENRY. 

men carried with them to their homes that report of 
him as a man of extraordinary intelligence, integrity, 
and power, which was the basis of his subsequent fame 
for many years among the American people. Long 
afterward, John Adams, who formed his estimate of 
Patrick Henry chiefly from what he saw of him in that 
congress, and who was never much addicted to bestow- 
ing eulogiums on any man but John Adams, wrote to 
Jefferson that "in the congress of 1774 there was not 
one member, except Patrick Henry, who appeared . . . 
sensible of the precipice, or rather the pinnacle, on 
which we stood, and had candor and courage enough to 
acknowledge it." ^ To Wirt likewise, a few years later, 
the same hard critic of men testified that Patrick Henry 
always impressed him as a person " of deep reflection, 
keen sagacity, clear foresight, daring enterprise, inflex- 
ible intrepidity, and untainted integrity, with an ardent 
zeal for the liberties, the honor, and felicity of his 
country and his species." ^ 

Of the parting interview between these two men, at 
the close of that first period of thorough personal ac- 
quaintance, there remains from the hand of one of 
them a graphic account that reveals to us something of 
the conscious kinship which seems ever afterward to 
have bound together their robust and impetuous natures. 
" When congress," says John Adams, " had finished 
their business, as they thought, in the autumn of 1774, 
I had with Mr. Henry, before we took leave of each 
other, some familiar conversation, in which I expressed 
a full conviction that our resolves, declarations of rights, 
enumeration of wrongs, petitions, remonstrances, and 
addresses, associations, and non-importation agreements, 
1 Works of John Adams, x. 78. 2 ibjd. x. 277. 



IN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. Ill 

however they might be expected by the people in Amer- 
ica, and however necessary to cement the union of the 
colonies, would be but waste paper in England. Mr. 
Henry said they might make some impression among the 
people of England, but agreed with me that they would 
be totally lost upon the government. I had but just 
received a short and hasty letter, written to me by 
Major Hawley, of Northampton, containing * a few 
broken hints,' as he called them, of what he thought was 
proper to be done, and concluding ^ with these words : 
* After all, we must fight.' This letter I read to Mr. 
Henry, who listened with great attention ; and as soon 
as I had pronounced the words, * After all, we must 
fight,' he raised his head, and with an energy and vehe- 
mence that I can never forget, broke out with: *By 
God, I am of that man's mind ! ' " ^ 

This anecdote, it may be mentioned, contains the 
only instance on record, for any period of Patrick 
Henry's life, implying his use of what at first may seem 
a profane oath. John Adams, upon whose very fallible 
memory in old age the story rests, declares that he did 
not at the time regard Patrick Henry's words as an 
oath, but rather as a solemn asseveration, affirmed re- 
ligiously, upon a very great occasion. At any rate, 
that asseveration proved to be a prophecy ; for from it 
there then leaped a flame that lighted up for an instant 
the next inevitable stage in the evolution of events, — 
the tragic and bloody outcome of all these wary lucu- 
brations and devices of the assembled political wizards 
of America. 

1 As a matter of fact, the letter from Hawley began with these 
words, instead of "concluding" with them. 

2 Works of John Adams, x. 277, 278. 



112 PATRICK EENRY. 

It is interesting to note that, at the very time when 
the congress at Philadelphia was busy with its stern 
work, the people of Virginia were grappling with the 
peril of an Indian war assailing them from beyond their 
western mountains. There has recently been brought 
to light a letter written at Hanover, on the 15th of Oc- 
tober, 1774, by the aged mother of Patrick Henry, to 
a friend living far out towards the exposed district ; 
and this letter is a touching memorial both of the gen- 
eral anxiety over the two concurrent events, and of the 
motherly pride and piety of the writer : " My son 
Patrick has been gone to Philadelphia near seven 
weeks. The affairs of congress are kept with great 
secrecy, nobody being allowed to be present. I as- 
sure you we have our lowland troubles and fears with 
respect to Great Britain. Perhaps our good God may 
bring good to us out of these many evils which threaten 
us, not only from the mountains but from the seas." ^ 

1 Peyton, History of Augusta County, 345, where will be found the 
entire letter. 



CHAPTER IX. 

"after all, we must fight." 

We now approach that brilliant passage in the life of 
Patrick Henry when, in the presence of the second rev- 
olutionary convention of Virginia, he proclaimed the 
futility of all further efforts for peace, and the instant 
necessity of preparing to fight. 

The speech which he is said to have made on that oc- 
casion has been committed to memory and declaimed by 
several generations of American schoolboys, and is now 
perhaps familiarly known to a larger number of the 
American people than any other considerable bit of 
secular prose in our language. The old church at Rich-- 
mond, in which he made this marvellous speech, is in our 
time visited every year, as a patriotic shrine, by thou- 
sands of pilgrims, who seek curiously the very spot upon 
the floor where the orator is believed to have stood when 
he uttered those words of flame. It is chiefly the tradi- 
tion of that one speech which to-day keeps alive, in mil- 
lions of American homes, the name of Patrick Henry, 
and which lifts him, in the popular faith, almost to the 
rank of some mythical hero of romance. 

In reality, that speech, and the resolutions in sup- 
port of which that speech was made, constituted Patrick 
Henry's individual declaration of war against Great 
Britain. But the question is : To what extent, if any, 
was he therein original, or even in advance of his fel- 



114 PATRICK HENRY. 

low-countrymen, and particularly of his associates in 
the Virginia convention ? 

It is essential to a just understanding of the history of 
that crisis in revolutionary thought, and it is of very 
hit^h importance, likewise, to the historic position of 
Patrick Henry, that no mistake be committed here ; es- 
pecially that he be not made the victim of a disastrous 
reaction from any overstatement ^ respecting the precise 
nature and extent of the service then rendered by him 
to the cause of the revolution. 

We need, therefore, to glance for a moment at the 
period between October, 1774, and March, 1775, with 
the purpose of tracing therein the more important to- 
kens of the growth of the popular conviction that a war 
with Great Britain had become inevitable, and was to 
be immediately prepared for by the several colonies, — 
two propositions which form the substance of all that 
Patrick Henry said on the great occasion now before us. 

As early as the 21st of October, 1774, the first con- 
tinental congress, after having suggested all possible 
methods for averting war, made this solemn declaration 
to the people of the colonies : " We think ourselves 
bound in duty to observe to you that the schemes agi- 
tated against these colonies have been so conducted as to 
render it prudent that you should extend your views to 
mournful events, and be in all respects prepared for every 
emergency." ^ Just six days later, John Dickinson, a 
most conservative and peace-loving member of that con- 
gress, wrote to an American friend in England : "I 

1 For an example of such overstatement, see Wirt, 114-123. See, 
also, the damaging comments thereon by Rives, Life of Madison^ i. 
63, 64. 

2 4 Am. Arch., i. 928. 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHT.'' 115 

wish for peace ardently ; but must say, delightful as it 
is, it will come more grateful by being unexpected. The 
first act of violence on the part of administration in 
America, or the attempt to reinforce General Gage this 
winter or next year, will put the whole continent in arms, 
from Nova Scotia to Georgia." ^ On the following day, 
the same prudent statesman wrote to another American 
friend, also in England : " The most peaceful provinces 
are now animated ; and a civil war is unavoidable, unless 
there be a quick change of British measures."^ On 
the 29th of October, the eccentric Charles Lee, who 
was keenly watching the symptoms of colonial discon- 
tent and resistance, wrote from Philadelphia to an 
English nobleman : " Virginia, Rhode Island, and Car- 
olina are forming corps. Massachusetts Bay has long 
had a sufficient number instructed to become instruc- 
tive of the rest. Even this Qua,kering province is fol- 
lowing the example. ... In short, unless the ban- 
ditti at Westminster speedily undo everything they 
have done, their royal paymaster will hear of reviews 
and manoeuvres not quite so entertaining as those 
he is presented with in Hyde Park and Wimbledon 
Common." 2 On the 1st of November, a gentleman 
in Maryland wrote to a kinsman in Glasgow : " The 
province of Virginia is raising one company in every 
county. . . . This province has taken the hint, and 
has begun to raise men in every county also ; and to 
the northward they have large bodies, capable of acquit- 
ting themselves with honor in the field."* At about 
the same time, the general assembly of Connecticut or- 
dered that every town should at once supply itself with 

1 4 Am. Arch., i. 947. 2 ibid. i. 947. 

3 Ibid. i. 949, 950. 4 ibid. i. 953. 



116 PATRICK HENRY. 

" double the quantity of powder, balls, and flints '* that 
had been hitherto required by law.^ On the 5th of No- 
vember, the officers of the Virginia troops accompany- 
ing Lord Dunmore on his campaign against the Indians 
held a meeting at Fort Gower, on the Ohio River, and 
passed this resolution : '• That we will exert every 
power within us for the defence of American liberty, 
and for the support of her just rights and privileges, not 
in any precipitate, riotous, or tumultuous manner, but 
when regularly called forth by the unanimous voice of 
our countrymen."^ Not far from the same time, the 
people of Rhode Island carried o£P to Providence from 
the batteries at Newport forty-four pieces of cannon ; and 
the governor frankly told the commander of a British 
naval force near at hand that they had done this in order 
to prevent these cannon from falling into his hands, 
and with the purpose of using them against *' any power 
that might offer to molest the colony." ^ Early in De- 
cember, the provincial convention of Maryland recom- 
mended that all persons between sixteen and fifty years 
of age should form themselves into military companies, 
and "be in readiness to act on any emergency," — with 
a sort of grim humor, prefacing their recommendation 
by this exquisite morsel of argumentative irony : " Re- 
solved unanimously, that a well regulated militia, com- 
posed of the gentlemen freeholders and other freemen, 
is the natural strength and only stable security of a 
free government ; and that such militia will relieve our 
mother country from any expense in our protection and 
defence, will obviate the pretence of a necessity for 
taxing us on that account, and render it unnecessary to 
keep any standing army — ever dangerous to liberty — 
1 4 Am. Arch., i. 858. 2 ibid. i. 963. 3 Hildreth, iii. 52. 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHT:' 117 

in this province." ^ The shrewdness of this courteous 
political thrust on the part of the convention of Mary- 
land seems to have been so heartily relished by others 
that it was thenceforward used again and again by 
similar conventions elsewhere ; and in fact, for the next 
few months, these sentences became almost the stereo- 
typed formula by which revolutionary assemblages justi- 
fied the arming and drilling of the militia, — as, for ex- 
ample, that of Newcastle County, Delaware,'-^ on the 
21st of December ; that of Fairfax County, Virginia,^ 
on the 17th of January, 1775 ; and that of Augusta 
County, Virginia,^ on the 2 2d of February. 

In the mean time Lord Dunmore was not blind to all 
these military preparations in Virginia ; and so early as 
the 24th of December, 1774, he had written to the 
Earl of Dartmouth ; " Every county, besides, is now 
arming a company of men, whom they call an in- 
dependent company, for the avowed purpose of pro- 
tecting their committees, and to be employed against 
government, if occasion require." ^ Moreover, this 
alarming fact of military preparation, which Lord Dun- 
more had thus reported concerning Virginia, could have 
been reported with equal truth concerning nearly every 
other colony. In the early part of January, 1775, the 
assembly of Connecticut gave order that the entire 
militia of that colony should be mustered every week.^ 
In the latter part of January, the provincial conven- 
tion of Pennsylvania, though representing a colony of 
Quakers, boldly proclaimed that, if the administration 
" should determine by force to effect a submission to the 

1 4 Am. Arch., i. 1032. 2 ibid. i. 1022. 

3 Ibid. i. 1145. 4 Ibid. i. 1254. 

5 Ibid. i. 1062. e ibid. i. 1139. 



118 PATRICK HENRY. 

late arbitrary acts of the British parliament," it would 
"resist such force, and at every hazard . . . defend 
the rights and liberties of America." ^ On the 15th of 
February, the provincial congress of Massachusetts 
urged the people to " spare neither time, pains, nor ex- 
pense, at so critical a juncture, in perfecting themselves 
forthwith in military discipline." ^ 

When, therefore, so late as Monday, the 20th of 
March, 1775, the second revolutionary convention of 
Virginia assembled at Richmond, its members were 
well aware that one of the chief measures to come 
before them for consideration must be that of recog- 
nizing the local military preparations among their own 
constituents, and of placing them all under some com- 
mon organization and control. Accordingly, on Thurs- 
day, the 23d of March, after three days had been 
given to necessary preliminary subjects, the inevitable 
subject of military preparations was reached. Then it 
was that Patrick Henry took the floor and moved the 
adoption of the following resolutions, supporting his 
motion, undoubtedly, with a speech : — 

*' Resolved, That a well-regulated militia, composed of 
gentlemen and yeomen, is the natural strength and only 
security of a free government ; that such a militia in 
this colony would forever render it unnecessary for the 
mother country to keep among us, for the purpose of 
our defence, any standing army of mercenary forces, 
always subversive of the quiet and dangerous to the 
liberties of the people, and would obviate the pretext 
of taxing us for their support. 

" Resolved, That the establishment of such a militia 
is at this time peculiarly necessary, by the state of our 
1 4 Am. Arch., i. 1171. 2 ibid. i. 1340. 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHT.'' 119 

laws for the protection and defence of the country, some 
of which have already expired, and others will shortly 
do so ; and that the known remissness of government in 
calling us together in a legislative capacity, renders it 
too insecure, in this time of danger and distress, to rely 
that opportunity will be given of renewing them in 
general assembly, or making any provision to secure 
our inestimable rights and liberties from those further 
violations with which they are threatened. 

" Resolved, therefore, That this colony be immediately 
put into a posture of defence; and that ... be a com- 
mittee to prepare a plan for the embodying, arming, and 
disciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient 
for that purpose." -^ 

No one who reads these resolutions in the light of the 
facts just given, can find in them anything by which to 
account for the opposition which they are known to have 
met with in that assemblage. For that assemblage, it 
must be remembered, was not the Virginia legislature : 
it was a mere convention, and a revolutionary conven- 
tion at that, gathered in spite of the objections of Lord 
Dunmore, representing simply the deliberate purpose 
of those Virginians who meant not finally to submit to 
unjust laws ; some of its members, likewise, being un- 
der express instructions from their constituents to take 
measures for the immediate and adequate military or- 
ganization of the colony. Not a man, probably, was 
sent to that conveuvfOn, not a man surely would have 
gone to it, who was not in substantial sympathy with 
the prevailing revolutionary spirit. 

Of course, even they who were in sympathy with 
that spirit might have objected to Patrick Henry's 
1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 167, 168. 



120 PATRICK HENRY. 

resolutions, had those resolutions been marked by any 
startling novelty in doctrine, or by anything extreme or 
violent in expression. But, plainly, they were neither 
extreme nor violent ; they were not even novel. They 
contained nothing essential which had not been ap- 
proved, in almost the same words, more than three 
months before, by similar conventions in Maryland 
and in Delaware ; which had not been approved, in al- 
most the same words, many weeks before, by county 
conventions in Virginia, — in one instance, by a county 
convention presided over by Washington himself; 
which had not been approved, in other language, either 
weeks or months before, by Massachusetts, Rhode Isl- 
and, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and other colonies ; 
which was not sanctioned by the plainest prudence on 
the part of all persons who intended to make any fur- 
ther stand whatsoever against the encroachments of 
parliament. It is safe to say that no man who had 
within him enough of the revolutionary spirit to have 
prompted his attendance at a revolutionary convention, 
could have objected to any essential item in Patrick 
Henry's resolutions. 

Why, then, were they objected to ? Why was their 
immediate passage resisted ? The official journal of 
the convention throws no light upc i the question : it 
records merely the adoption of the resolutions, and is 
entirely silent respecting any discussion that they may 
have provoked. Thirty years afterward, however, St. 
George Tucker, who, though not a member of this con- 
vention, had yet as a visitor watched its proceedings 
that day, gave from memory some account of them ; 
and to him we are indebted for the names of the prin- 
cipal men who stood out against Patrick Henry's mo- 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHT:' 121 

tion. " This produced," he says, " an animated debate, 
in which Colonel Richard Bland, Mr. Nicholas, the 
treasurer, and I think Colonel Harrison, of Berkeley, 
and Mr. Pendleton, were opposed to the resolution, 
as conceiving it to be premature ; " ^ all these men 
being prudent politicians, indeed, but all fully com- 
mitted to the cause of the revolution. 

At first, this testimony may seem to leave us as much 
in the dark as before ; and yet all who are familiar 
with the politics of Virginia at that period will see in 
this cluster of names some clew to the secret of their 
opposition. It was an opposition to Patrick Henry 
himself, and as far as possible to any measure of which 
he should be the leading champion. Yet even this is 
not enough. Whatever may have been their private 
motives in resisting a measure advocated by Patrick 
Henry, they must still have had some reason which 
they would be willing to assign. St. George Tucker 
tells us that they conceived his resolutions to be " pre- 
mature." But in themselves his resolutions, so far 
from being premature, were rather tardy ; they lagged 
weeks and even months behind many of the best coun- 
ties in Virginia itself, as well as behind those other 
colonies to which in political feeling Virginia was al- 
ways most nearly akin. 

The only possible explanation of the case seems to 
be found, not in the resolutions themselves, but in the 
special interpretation put upon them by Patrick Henry 
in the speech which, according to parliamentary usage, 
he seems to have made in moving their adoption. What 
was that interpretation ? In the true answer to that 
question, no doubt, lies the secret of the resistance which 
IMS. 



122 PATRICK HENRY. 

his motion encountered. For, down to that day, no 
public body in America, and no public man, had openly 
spoken of a war with Great Britain in any more de- 
cisive way than as a thing highly probable, indeed, but 
still not inevitable. At last Patrick Henry spoke of 
it, and he wanted to induce the convention of Virginia 
to speak of it, as a thing inevitable. Others had said, 
" The war must come, and will come, — unless certain 
things are done." Patrick Henry, brushing away every 
prefix or suffix of uncertainty, every half-despairing " if," 
every fragile and pathetic " unless," exclaimed, in the 
hearing of all men : " Why talk of things being now 
done which can avert the war ? Such things will not be 
done. The war is coming : it has come already." Ac- 
cordingly, other conventions in the colonies, in adopting 
similar resolutions, had merely announced the probabil- 
ity of war. Patrick Henry would have this conven- 
tion, by adopting his resolutions, virtually declare war 
itself. 

In this alone, it is apparent, consisted the real pri- 
ority and offensiveness of Patrick Henry's position as 
a revolutionary statesman on the 23d of March, 1775. 
In this alone were his resolutions " premature." The 
very men who opposed them because they were to be 
understood as closing the door against the possibility 
of peace, would have favored them had they only left 
that door open, or even ajar. But Patrick Henry de- 
manded of the people of Virginia that they should treat 
all further talk of peace as mere prattle; that they 
should seize the actual situation by a bold grasp of it 
in front ; that, looking upon the war as a fact, they 
should instantly proceed to get ready for it. And 
therein, once more, in revolutionary ideas, was Patrick 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHT.'' 123 

Henry one full step in advance of his contemporaries. 
Therein, once more, did he justify the reluctant praise 
of Jefferson, who was a member of that convention, and 
who, nearly fifty years afterward, said concerning Pat- 
rick Henry to a great statesman from Massachusetts: 
" After all, it must be allowed that he was our leader in 
the measures of the revolution in Virginia, and in that 
respect more is due to him than to any other per- 
son. . . . He left all of us far behind." ^ 

Such, at any rate, we have a right to suppose, was 
the substantial issue presented by the resolutions of 
Patrick Henry, and by his introductory speech in sup- 
port of them ; and upon this issue the little group of pol- 
iticians — able and patriotic men, who always opposed 
his leadership — then arrayed themselves against him, 
making the most, doubtless, of everything favoring the 
possibility and the desirableness of a peaceful adjust- 
ment of the great dispute. But their opposition to him 
only produced the usual result, — of arousing him to an 
effort which simply overpowered and scattered all fur- 
ther resistance. It was in review of their whole quiver- 
ing platoon of hopes and fears, of doubts, cautions, and 
delays, that he then made the speech which seems to 
have wrought astonishing effects upon those who heard 
it, and which, though preserved in a most inadequate 
report, now fills so great a space in the traditions of 
revolutionary eloquence : — 

- " No man, Mr. President, thinks more highly than I 
do of the patriotism, as well as the abilities, of the very 
honorable gentlemen who have just addressed the 
house. But different men often see the same subject 
in different lights ; and, therefore, I hope it will not be 
1 Curtis, Life of Webster, i. 585. 



124 PATRICK HENRY. 

thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertain- 
ing, as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to 
theirs, I should speak forth my sentiments freely, and 
without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The 
question before the house is one of awful moment to 
this country. For my own part, I consider it as noth- 
ing less than a question of freedom or slavery. And 
in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to 
be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way 
that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great 
responsibility which we hold to God and our country. 
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through 
fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty 
of treason towards my counti-y, and of an act of dis- 
loyalty towards the majesty of Heaven, which I revere 
above all earthly kings. 

" Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the 
illusions of Hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against 
a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren 
till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of 
wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for 
liberty ? Are we disposed to be of the number of those 
who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, 
the things which so nearly concern their temporal salva- 
tion ? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may 
cost, I am willing to know the whole truth ; to know 
the worst, and to provide for it. 

" I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, 
and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way 
of judging of the future but by the past. And, judging 
by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the 
conduct of the British ministry, for the last ten years, 
to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHTS 125 

pleased to solace themselves and the house. Is it that 
insidious smile with which our petition has been lately- 
received ? Trust it not, sir ; it will prove a snare to 
your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a 
kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of 
our petition comports with those warlike preparations 
which cover our waters and darken our land. Are 
fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and rec- 
onciliation ? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to 
be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back 
our love ? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These 
are the implements of war and subjugation, — the last 
arguments to which kings resort. 

" I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, 
if its purpose be not to force us to submission ? Can 
gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it ? Has 
Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, 
to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies ? 
No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us : they 
can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind 
; and rivet upon us those chains which the British min- 
i '.stry have been so long forging. 

" And what have we to oppose to them ? Shall we 
t ry argument ? Sir, we have been trying that for the 
1 ast ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon 
■■ .he subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up 
m every light of which it is capable ; but it has been all 
in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty, and humble sup- 
plication ? What terms shall we find which have not 
been already exliausted ? 

" Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves 
longer. Sir, we have done everything that could 
be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. 



126 PATRICK HENRY. 

We have petitioned ; we have remonstrated ; we have 
supplicated ; we have prostrated ourselves before the 
throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the 
tyrannical hands of the ministry and parliament. Our 
petitions have been slighted ; our remonstrances have 
produced additional violence and insult ; our supplica- 
tions have been disregarded ; and we have been spurned 
with contempt from the foot of the throne. 

" In vain, after these things, may we indulge the 
fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no 
longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free ; if 
we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privi- 
leges for which we have been so long contending ; if 
we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in 
which we have been so long engaged, and which we 
have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glo- 
rious object of our contest shall be obtained, — we must 
fight ! I repeat it, sir, — we must fight ! An appeal to 
arms, and to the God of hosts, is all that is left us." 

Up to this point in his address, the orator seems to 
have spoken with great deliberation and self-restraint. 
St. George Tucker, who was present, and who has left 
a written statement of his recollections both of the 
speech and of the scene, says : " It was on that occasion 
that I first felt a full impression of Mr. Henry's powers. 
In vain should I attempt to give any idea of his speech. 
He was calm and collected ; touched upon the origin and 
progress of the dispute between Great Britain and the 
colonies, the various conciliatory measures adopted by 
the latter, and the uniformly increasing tone of violence 
and arrogance on the part of the former." Then fol- 
lows, in Tucker's narrative, the passage included in the 
last two paragraphs of the speech as given above, after 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHT:' 127 

which he adds : " Imagine to yourself this speech de- 
livered with all the calm dignity of Cato of Utica ; im- 
agine to yourself the Roman senate assembled in the 
capitol when it was entered by the profane Gauls, 
who at first were awed by their presence as if they 
had entered an assembly of the gods ; imagine that you 
heard that Cato addressing such a senate ; imagine that 
you saw the handwriting on the wall of Belshazzar's 
palace ; imagine you heard a voice as from heaven ut- 
tering the words, ' We must fight ! ' as the doom of fate, 
— and you may have some idea of the speaker, the as- 
sembly to whom he addressed himself, and the auditory 
of which I was one." ^ 

But, by a comparison of this testimony of St. George 
Tucker with that of others who heard the speech, it is 
made evident that, as the orator then advanced toward 
the conclusion and real climax of his argument, he no 
longer maintained " the calm dignity of Cato of Utica," 
but that his manner gradually deepened into an inten- 
sity of passion and a dramatic power which were over- „ 
whelming. He thus continued : — 

" They tell us, sir, that we are weak, — unable to 
cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall 
we be stronger ? Will it be the next week, or the next 
year ? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and 
when a British guard shall be stationed in every house ? 
Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction ? 
Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by 
lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive 
phantom of Hope, until our enemies shall have bound 
us hand and foot ? 

" Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of 
1 MS. 



J^ 128 PATRICK HENRY. 

those means which the God of nature hath placed in 
our power. Three millions of people armed in the holy 
cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which 
we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy 
can send against us. 

" Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. 
There is a just God who presides over the destinies of 
nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our bat- 
tles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone : 
it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, 
we have no election. If we were base enough to desire 
it, it is now too late to retire from the contest There is 
no retreat but in submission and slavery. Our chains 
are forged. Their clanking may be heard on the plains 
of Boston. The war is inevitable. And let it come ! 
I repeat it, sir, let it come ! 

" It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gen- 
tlemen may cry peace, peace, but there is no peace. 
The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps 
from the north will bring to our ears the clash of re- 
sounding arms. Our brethren are already in the field. 
Why stand we here idle ? What is it that gentlemen 
wish ? What would they have ? Is life so dear, or 
peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains 
and slavery ? Forbid it, Almighty God ! I know not 
what course others may take, but as for me, give me 
liberty, or give me death ! " 

/Of this tremendous speech there are in existence two 
-"^^ traditional descriptions, neither of which is inconsistent 
with the testimony given by St. George Tucker. He, 
as a lawyer and a judge, seems to have retained the 
impression of that portion of the speech which was 
the more argumentative and unimpassioned : the two 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHT:' 129 

Other reporters seem to have remembered especially 
its later and more emotional passages. Our first tra- 
ditional description was obtained by Henry Stephens 
Randall from a clergyman, who had it from an aged 
friend, also a clergyman, who heard the speech itself : 
" Henry rose with an unearthly fire burning in his eye. 
He commenced somewhat calmly, but the smothered ex- 
citement began more and more to play upon his features 
and thrill in the tones of his voice. The tendons of his 
neck stood out white and rigid like whipcords. His 
voice rose louder and louder, until the walls of the build- 
ing, and all within them, seemed to shake and rock in 
its tremendous vibrations. Finally, his pale face and 
glaring eye became terrible to look upon. Men leaned 
forward in their seats, with their heads strained for- 
ward, their faces pale, and their eyes glaring like the 
speaker's. His last exclamation, * Give me liberty, or 
giVe me death ! ' was like the shout of the leader which 
turns back the rout of battle." The old man from 
whom this tradition was derived added that, when the 
orator sat down, he himself " felt sick with excitement. 
Every eye yet gazed entranced on Henry. It seemed 
as if a word from him would have led to any wild ex- 
plosion of violence. Men looked beside themselves." ^ 

The second traditional description of the speech is 
obtained from a manuscript ^ of Edward Fontaine, who 
obtained it in 1834 from John Roane, who himself heard 
the speech. Roane told Fontaine that the orator's 
"voice, countenance, and gestures gave an irresistible 
force to his words, which no description could make intel- 
ligible to one who had never seen him, nor heard him 

1 Randall, Life of Jefferson, i. 101, 102. 

2 Now in the library of Cornell University. 



130 PATRICK HENRY. 

speak ; " but, in order to convey some notion of the ora- 
tor's manner, Roane described the delivery of the closing 
sentences of the speech : " You remember, sir, the con- 
clusion of the speech, so often declaimed in various ways 
by school-boys, — ' Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as 
to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery ? 
Forbid it. Almighty God! I know not what course 
others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give 
me death ! ' He gave each of these words a meaning 
which is not conveyed by the reading or delivery of 
them in the ordinary way. When he said, ' Is life so 
dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price 
of chains and slavery ? ' he stood in the attitude of a 
condemned galley slave, loaded with fetters, awaiting 
his doom. His form was bowed ; his wrists were 
crossed ; his manacles were almost visible as he stood 
like an embodiment of helplessness and agony. After 
a solemn pause, he raised his eyes and chained hands 
towards heaven, and . prayed, in words and tones which 
thrilled every heart, ' Forbid it. Almighty God ! ' 
He then turned towards the timid loyalists of the 
house, who were quaking with terror at the idea of 
the consequences of participating in proceedings which 
would be visited with the penalties of treason by the 
British crown ; and he slowly bent his form yet nearer 
to the earth, and said, ' I know not what course others 
may take,' and he accompanied the words with his 
hands still crossed, while he seemed to be weighed down 
with additional chains. The man appeared transformed 
into an oppressed, heart-broken, and hopeless felon. 
After remaining in this posture of humiliation long 
enough to impress the imagination with the condition 
of the colony under the iron heel of military despotism, 



'* AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHTr 131 

he arose proudly, and exclaimed, *but as for me,' — 
and the words hissed through his clenched teeth, while 
his body was thrown back, and every muscle and tendon 
was strained against the fetters which bound him, and, 
with his countenance distorted by agony and rage, he 
looked for a moment like Laocoon in a death struggle 
with coiling serpents ; then the loud, clear, triumphant 
notes, *give me liberty,* electrified the assembly. It 
was not a prayer, but a stern demand, which would sub- 
mit to no refusal or delay. The sound of his voice, 
as he spoke these memorable words, was like that of 
a Spartan paean on the field of Plataea ; and, as each 
syllable of the word * liberty ' echoed through the build- 
ing, his fetters were shivered ; his arms were hurled 
apart ; and the links of his chains were scattered to the 
winds. When he spoke the word * liberty ' with an em- 
phasis never given it before, his hands were open, and 
his arms elevated and extended ; his countenance was 
radiant ; he stood erect and defiant ; while the sound of 
his voice and the sublimity of his attitude made him 
appear a magnificent incarnation of Freedom, and ex- 
pressed all that can be acquired or enjoyed by nations 
and individuals invincible and free. After a momen- 
tary pause, only long enough to permit the echo of the 
word * liberty ' to cease, he let his left hand fall pow- 
erless to his side, and clenched his right hand firmly, 
as if holding a dagger with the point aimed at his 
breast. He stood like a Roman senator defying Caesar, 
while the unconquerable spirit of Cato of Utica flashed 
from every feature ; and he closed the grand appeal 
with the solemn words, ' or give me death ! ' which 
sounded with the awful cadence of a hero's dirge, fear- 
less of death, and victorious in death •, and he suited the 



132 PATRICK HENRY. 

action to the word by a blow upon the left breast with 
the right hand, which seemed to drive the dagger to 
the patriot's heart." ^ 

**^ Before passing from this celebrated speech, it is 
proper to say something respecting the authenticity of 
the version of it which has come down to us, and which 
is now so universally known in America. The speech 
is given in these pages substantially as it was given by 
Wirt in his " Life of Henry." Wirt himself does not 
mention whence he obtained his version ; and all efforts 
to discover that version as a whole, in any writing 
prior to Wirt's book, have thus far been unsuccessful. 
These facts have led even so genial a critic as Grigsby 
to incline to the opinion that " much of the speech 
published by Wirt is apocryphal." ^ It would, indeed, 
be an odd thing, and a source of no little disturbance to 
many minds, if such should turn out to be the case, and 
if we should have to conclude that an apocryphal 
speech written by Wirt, and attributed by him to 
Patrick Henry fifteen years after the great orator's 
death, had done more to perpetuate the renown of 
Patrick Henry's oratory than had been done by any 
and all the words actually spoken by the orator him- 
self during his lifetime. On the other hand, it should 
be said that Grigsby himself admits that " the outline 
of the argument " and " some of its expressions " are 
undoubtedly " authentic." That this is so is apparent, 
likewise, from the written recollections of St. George 
Tucker, wherein the substance of the speech is given, 
besides one entire passage in almost the exact language 
of the version by Wirt. Finally, John Roane, in 1834, 
in his conversation with Edward Fontaine, is said to 
1 MS. 2 Va. Conv. o/1776, 150, note. 



''AFTER ALL, WE MUST FIGHTS' 133 

have " verified the correctness of the speech as it was 
written by Judge Tyler for Mr. Wirt." ^ This, unfor- 
tunately, is the only intimation that has anywhere been 
found attributing Wirt's version to the excellent au- 
thority of Judge John Tyler. If the statement could 
be confirmed, it would dispel every difficulty at once. 
But, even though the statement should be set aside, 
enough would still remain to justify us in thinking that 
Wirt's version of the famous speech by no means de- 
serves to be called " apocryphal," in any such sense as 
that word has when applied, for example, to the speeches 
in Livy and in Thucydides, or in Botta. In the first 
place, Wirt's version certainly gives the substance of 
the speech as actually made by Patrick Henry on the 
occasion named; and, for the form of it, Wirt seems to 
have gathered testimony from all available living wit- 
nesses, and then, from such sentences or snatches of 
sentences as these witnesses could remember, as well 
as from his own cenception of the orator's method of 
expression, to have constructed the version which he 
has handed down to us. Even in that case, it is prob- 
ably far more accurate and authentic than are most of 
the famous speeches attributed to public characters be- 
fore reporters' galleries were opened, and before the 
art of reporting was brought to its present perfection. 

Returning, now, from this long account of Patrick 
Henry's most celebrated speech, to the assemblage in 
which it was made, it remains to be mentioned that the 
resolutions, as offered by Patrick Henry, were carried ; 
and that the committee, called for by those resolutions, 
to prepare a plan for " embodying, arming, and disciplin- 
ing " the militia,^ was at once appointed. Of this eom- 
1 MS. 24 Am. Arch., ii. 168. 



134 PATRICK HENRY. 

mittee Patrick Henry was chairman ; and with him 
were associated Richard Henry Lee, Nicholas, Harri- 
son, Riddick, Washington, Stephen, Lewis, Christian, 
Pendleton, Jefferson, and Zane. On the following day, 
Friday, the 24th of March, the committee brought in 
its report, which was laid over for one day, and then, 
after some amendment, was unanimously adopted. 

The convention did not close its labors until Monday, 
the 27th of March. The contemporaneous estimate of 
Patrick Henry, not merely as a leader in debate, but as 
a constitutional lawyer, and as a man of affairs, may be 
partly gathered from the fact of his connection with 
each of the two other important committees of this con- 
vention, — the committee " to inquire whether his maj- 
esty may of right advance the terms of granting lands in 
this colony,"^ on which his associates were the great 
lawyers. Bland, Jefferson, Nicholas, and Pendleton ; 
and the committee " to prepare a plan for the en- 
couragement of arts and manufactures in this col- 
ony," ^ on which his associates were Nicholas, Bland, 
Mercer, Pendleton, Gary, Carter of Stafford, Harrison, 
Richard Henry Lee, Clapham, Washington, Holt, and 
Newton. 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 172. 2 ibid. 170. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE RAPE OF THE GUNPOWDER. 

Several of the famous men of the revolution, 
whose distinction is now exclusively that of civilians, 
are supposed to have cherished very decided military 
aspirations ; to have been rather envious of the more 
vivid renown acquired by some of their political asso- 
ciates who left the senate for the field ; and, indeed, to 
have made occasional efforts to secure for themselves 
the opportunity for glory in the same pungent and 
fascinating form. A notable example of this class of 
revolutionary civilians with abortive military desires, 
is John Hancock. In June, 1775, when congress had 
before it the task of selecting one who should be the 
military leader of the uprisen colonists, John Hancock, 
seated in the president's chair, gave unmistakable signs 
of thinking that the choice ought to fall upon himself. 
While John Adams was speaking in general terms of 
the military situation, involving, of course, the need of a 
commander-in-chief, Hancock heard him " with visible 
pleasure ; " but when the orator came to point out 
Washington as the man best fitted for the leadership, 
" a sudden and striking change " came over the counte- 
nance of the president. "Mortification and resentment 
were expressed as forcibly as his face could exhibit 
them ; " ^ and it is probable that, to the end of his days, 
1 Works of John Adams, ii. 415-417. 



136 PATRICK HENRY. 

he was never able entirely to forgive Washington for 
having carried off the martial glory that he had really 
believed to be within his own reach. But even John 
Adams, who so pitilessly unveiled the baffled military 
desires of Hancock, was perhaps not altogether un- 
acquainted with similar emotions in his own soul. Fully 
three weeks prior to that notable scene in congress, in 
a letter to his wife in which he was speaking of the 
amazing military spirit then running through the con- 
tinent, and of the military appointments then held by 
several of his Philadelphia friends, he exclaimed in his 
impulsive way, " Oh that I were a soldier ! I will 
be." ^ And on the very day on which he joined in 
the escort of the new generals, AVashington, Lee, and 
Schuyler, on their first departure from Philadelphia for 
the American camp, he sent off to his wife a charac- 
teristic letter revealing something of the anguish with 
which he, a civilian, viewed the possibility of his being 
at a disadvantage with these military men in the race 
for glory : " The three generals were all mounted on 
horseback, accompanied by Major Mifflin, who is gone 
in the character of aide-de-camp. All the delegates 
from the Massachusetts, with their servants and car- 
riages, attended. Many others of the delegates from 
the congress ; a large troop of light horse in their uni- 
forms ; many officers of militia, besides, in theirs ; music 
playing, etc., etc. Such is the pride and pomp of war. 
I, poor creature, worn out with scribbling for my bread 
and my liberty, low in spirits and weak in health, must 
leave to others to wear the laurels which I have sown, ; 
others to eat the bread which I have earned." ^ 

1 Letters of John Adams to his Wife, i. 40. 

2 Ibid. i. 47, 48. 



THE RAPE OF THE GUNPOWDER. 137 

Of Patrick Henry, however, it may be said that his 
permaoent fame as an orator and a statesman has al- 
most effaced the memory of the fact that, in the first 
year of the war, he had considerable prominence as a 
soldier ; that it was then believed by many, and very 
likely by himself, that, having done as much as any 
man to bring on the war, he was next to do as much 
as any man in the actual conduct of it, and was thus 
destined to add to a civil renown of almost unap- 
proached brilliance, a similar renown for splendid tal- 
ents in the field. At any rate, the " first overt act of 
war " in Virginia, as Jefferson testifies,^ was committed 
by Patrick Henry. The first physical resistance to a 
royal governor, which in Massachusetts was made by 
the embattled farmers at Lexington and Concord, was 
made in Virginia almost as early, under the direction 
and inspiration of Patrick Henry's leadership. In the 
first organization of the revolutionary army in Virginia, 
the chief command was given to Patrick Henry. Finally, 
that he never had the opportunity of proving in battle 
whether or not he had military talents, and that, after 
some months of nominal command, he was driven by 
a series of official slights into an abandonment of his 
military career, may have been occasioned solely by 
a proper distrust of his military capacity on the part of 
the Virginia committee of safety, or it may have been 
due in some measure to the unslumbering jealousy of 
him which was at the time attributed to the leading 
members of that committee. The purpose of this chap- 
ter, and of the next, will be to present a rapid grouping 
of these incidents in his life, — incidents which now 
have the appearance of a mere episode, but which once 
1 Works of Jefferson, i. 116. 



138 PATRICK HENRY. 

seemed the possible beginnings of a deliberate and con- 
spicuous military career. 

Within the city of Williamsburg, at the period now- 
spoken of, had long been kept the public storehouse for 
gunpowder and arms. In the dead of the night ^ pre- 
ceding the 21st of April, 1775, — a little less than 
a month, therefore, after the convention of Virginia 
had proclaimed the inevitable approach of a war with 
Great Britain, — a detachment of marines from the 
armed schooner Magdalen, then lying in the James 
River, stealthily visited this storehouse, and, taking 
thence fifteen half-barrels of gunpowder,^ carried them 
off in Lord Dunmore's wagon to Burwell's Ferry, and 
put them on board their vessel. Of course, the ne^ws of 
this exploit flew fast through the colony, and every- 
where awoke alarm and exasperation. Soon some thou- 
sands of armed men made ready to march to the capital 
to demand the restoration of the gunpowder. On Tues- 
day, the 25th of April, the independent company of 
Fredericksburg notified their colonel, George Wash- 
ington, that, with his approbation, they would be pre- 
pared to start for Williamsburg on the following Satur- 
day, "properly accoutred as light-horsemen," and in 
conjunction with " any other bodies of armed men who " 
might be " willing to appear in support of the honor of 
Virginia." ^ 

Similar messages were promptly sent to Washington 
from the independent companies of Prince William^ 
and Albemarle ^ counties. On Wednesday, the 26th of 
April, the men in arms who had already arrived at 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 1227. 2 ibid. iii. 390. 

3 Ibid. ii. 387. 4 ibid. ii. 395. 

5 Ibid. ii. 442, 443. 



THE RAPE OF THE GUNPOWDER. 139 

Fredericksburg sent to the capital a swift messenger " to 
inquire whether the gunpowder had been replaced in 
the public magazine." ^ On Saturday, the 29th, — being 
the day already fixed for the march upon Williamsburg, 
— one hundred and two gentlemen, representing four- 
teen companies of light-horse, met in council at Fred- 
ericksburg, and, after considering a letter from the ven- 
erable Peyton Randolph which their messenger had 
brought back with him, particularly Randolph's assur- 
ance that the affair of the gunpowder was to be satis- 
factorily arranged, came to the resolution that they 
would proceed no further at that time ; adding, however, 
this solemn declaration : " We do now pledge ourselves 
to each other to be in readiness, at a moment's warning, 
to reassemble, and by force of arms to defend the law, 
the liberty, and rights of this or any sister colony from 
unjust and wicked invasion." ^ 

It is at this point that Patrick Henry comes upon the 
scene. Thus far, during the trouble, he appears to 
have been watching events from his home in Hanover 
County. As soon, however, as word was brought to him 
of the tame conclusion thus reached by the assembled 
warriors at Fredericksburg, his soul took fire at the 
lamentable mistake which he thought they had made. 
To him it seemed on every account the part of wisdom 
that the blow, which would have to be " struck sooner or 
later, should be struck at once, before an overwhelming 
force should enter the colony ; " that the spell by which 
the people were held in a sort of superstitious awe of 
the governor should be broken ; " that the military 
resources of the country should be developed ; " that the 
people should be made to " see and feel their strength by 
1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 426. 2 ibid. ii. 443. 



140 PATRICK HENRY. 

being brought out together ; that the revolution should 
be set in actual motion in the colony ; that the martial 
prowess of the country should be awakened, and the 
soldiery animated by that proud and resolute confidence 
which a successful enterprise in the commencement of a 
contest never fails to inspire." ^ 

Accordingly, he resolved that, as the troops lately 
rendezvoused at Fredericksburg had forborne to strike 
this needful blow, he would endeavor to repair the mis- 
take by striking it himself. At once, therefore, he de- 
spatched expresses to the officers and men of the inde- 
pendent company of his own county, " requesting them 
to meet him in arms at New Castle on the second of 
May, on business of the highest importance to American 
liberty." ^ He also summoned the county committee to 
meet him at the same time and place. 

At the place and time appointed his neighbors were 
duly assembled ; and when he had laid before them, in a 
speech of wonderful eloquence, his view of the situation, 
they instantly resolved to put themselves under his 
command, and to march at once to the capital, either to 
recover the gunpowder itself, or to make reprisals on 
the king's property sufficient to replace it. Without 
delay the march began. Captain Patrick Henry leading. 
By sunset of the following day, they had got as far as 
to Doncastle's Ordinary, about sixteen miles from Wil- 
liamsburg, and there rested for the night. Meantime, 
the news that Patrick Henry was marching with armed 
men straight against Lord Dunmore, to demand the 

1 Patrick Henry's reasons were thus stated by him at the time to 
Colonel Richard Morris and Captain George Dabney, and by the lat- 
ter were communicated to Wirt, 136, 137. 

2 Wirt, 137, 138. 



THE RAPE OF THE GUNPOWDER. 141 

restoration of the gunpowder or payment for it, car- 
ried exhilaration or terror in all directions. On the one 
hand, many prudent and conservative gentlemen were 
horrified at his rashness, and sent messenger after mes- 
senger to beg him to stay his fearful proceeding, to turn 
about, and to go home.^ On the other hand, as the"" 
word flew from county to county that Patrick Henry 
had taken up the people's cause in this vigorous fashion, 
five thousand men sprang to arms, and started across 
the country to join the ranks of his followers, and to 
lend a hand in case of need. At Williamsburg, the 
rumor of his approach brought on a scene of consterna- 
tion. The wife and family of Lord Dunmore were 
hurried away to a place of safety. Further down the 
river, the commander of his majesty's ship Fowey was 
notified that " his excellency the Lord Dunmore, gov- 
ernor of Virginia," was " threatened with an attack at 
daybreak, ... at his palace at Williamsburg ; " and for 
his defence was speedily sent off a detachment of 
marines.^ Before daybreak, however, the governor 
seems to have come to the prudent decision to avert, by 
a timely settlement with Patrick Henry, the impending 
attack ; and accordingly, soon after daybreak, a mes- 
senger arrived at Doncastle's Ordinary, there to tender 
immediate satisfaction in money for the gunpowder that 
had been ravished away.^ The troops, having already 
resumed their march, were halted ; and soon a settle- 
ment of the trouble was effected, according to the terms 
of the following singular document : — 

1 Wirt, 141. 2 4 Am. Arch. ii. 504. 

8 Cooke, Virginia, 432. 



142 PATRICK HENRY. 

"DoNCASTLE's ORDINARY, New Kent, May 4, 1775. 
" Received from the Honorable Richard Corbin, Esq., 
his majesty's receiver-general, £330, as a compensa- 
tion for the gunpowder lately taken out of the public 
magazine by the governor's order ; which money I 
promise to convey to the Virginia delegates at the gen- 
eral congress, to be under their direction laid out in gun- 
powder for the colony's use, and to be stored as they 
shall direct, until the next colony convention, or gen- 
eral assembly ; unless it shall be necessary, in the mean 
time, to use the same in defence of this colony. It is 
agreed, that in case the next convention shall determine 
that any part of the said money ought to be returned to 
his majesty's receiver-general, that the same shall be 
done accordingly. 

" Patrick Henry, Junior.*' ^ 

The chief object for which Patrick Henry and his 
soldiers had taken the trouble to come to that place 
having been thus suddenly accomplished, there was but 
one thing left for them to do before they should return 
to their homes. Robert Carter Nicholas, the treasurer 
of the colony, was at Williamsburg ; and to him Patrick 
Henry at once despatched a letter informing him of the 
arrangement that Lad been made, and offering to him 
any protection that he might in consequence require : — 

''May i, 1775. 

" Sir, — The affair of the powder is now settled, so as 

to produce satisfaction in me, and I earnestly wish to 

the colony in general. The people here have it in 

charge from the Hanover committee, to tender their 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 540. 



THE RAPE OF THE GUNPOWDER. 143 

services to you as a public officer, for the purpose of 
escorting the public treasury to any place in this colony 
where the money would be judged more safe than in 
the city of Williamsburg. The reprisal now made by 
the Hanover volunteers, though accomplished in a man- 
ner least liable to the imputation of violent extremity, 
may possibly be the cause of future injury to the treas- 
ury. If, therefore, you apprehend the least danger, a 
sufficient guard is at your service. I beg the return of 
the bearer may be instant, because the men wish to 
know their destination. 

"With great regard, I am, Sir, 

" Your most humble servant, 

" Patrick Henry, Junior. 

*'To Robert Carter Nicholas, Esq., Treasurer.''' i 

Patrick Henry's desire for an immediate answer from 
the respectable Mr. Nicholas was gratified, although it 
came in the form of a dignified rebuff : Mr. Nicholas 
"had no apprehension of the necessity or propriety of 
the proffered service." ^ 

No direct communication seems to have been had at 
that time with Lord Dunmore ; but two days afterward 
his lordship, having given to Patrick Henry ample 
time to withdraw to a more agreeable distance, sent 
thundering after him this portentous proclamation : — 

" Whereas I have been informed fi-om undoubted au- 
thority that a certain Patrick Henry, of the county o-f 
Hanover, and a number of deluded followers, have taken 
up arms, chosen their officers, and, styling themselves 
an independent company, have marched out of their 
county, encamped, and put themselves in a posture of 
1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 541. 2 ibid. 



144 PATRICK HENRY. 

war, and have written and despatched letters to diver's 
parts of the country, exciting the people to join in these 
outrageous and rebellious practices, to the great terror 
of all his majesty's faithful subjects, and in open defi- 
ance of law and government ; and have committed other 
acts of violence, particularly in extorting from his 
majesty's receiver-general the sum of three hundred and 
thirty pounds, under pretence of replacing the powder 
I thought proper to order from the magazine ; whence 
it undeniably appears that there is no longer the least 
security for the life or property of any man : wherefore, 
I have thought proper, with the advice of his majesty's 
council, and in his majesty's name, to issue this my 
proclamation, strictly charging all persons, upon their 
allegiance, not to aid, abet, or give countenance to the 
said Patrick Henry, or any other persons concerned in 
such unwarrantable combinations, but on the contrary 
to oppose them and their designs by every means ; 
which designs must, otherwise, inevitably involve the 
whole country in the most direful calamity, as they will 
call for the vengeance of offended majesty and the in- 
sulted laws to be exerted here, to vindicate the consti- 
tutional authority of government. 

" Given under my hand and the seal of the colony, at 
Williamsburg, this 6th day of May, 1775, and in the 
fifteenth year of his majesty's reign. 

" DUNMORE. 

" God save the King." ^ 

Beyond question, there were in Virginia at that time 
many excellent gentlemen who still trusted that the dis- 
pute with Great Britain might be composed without 
1 4 Am. Aroh., ii. 516. 



THE RAPE OF THE GUNPOWDER. 145 

bloodshed, and to whom Patrick Henry's conduct in 
this affair must have appeared foolhardy, presumptu- 
ous, and even criminal. The mass of the people of 
Virginia, however, did not incline to take that view 
of the subject. They had no faith any longer in timid 
counsels, in hesitating measures. They believed that 
their most important earthly rights were in danger. 
They longed for a leader with vigor, promptitude, cour- 
age, caring less for technical propriety than for justice, 
and not afraid to say so, by word or deed, to Lord Dun- 
more and to Lord Dunmore's master. Such a leader 
tliey thought they saw in Patrick Henry. Accordingly, 
even on his march homeward from Doncastle's Ordi- 
nary, the heart of Virginia began to go forth to him in 
expressions of love, of gratitude, and of Jiomage, such 
as no American colonist perhaps had ever before re- 
ceived. Upon his return home, his own county greeted 
him with its official approval.^ On the 8th of May, 
the county of Louisa sent him her thanks;^ and on the 
following day, messages to the same effect were sent 
from the counties of Orange and Spottsylvania.* On the 
19th of May, an address " to the inhabitants of Virginia," 
under the signature of " Brutus," saluted Patrick Henry 
as " his country's and America's unalterable and unap- 
palled great advocate and friend." * On the 22d of May, 
Prince William County declared its thanks to be "justly 
due to Captain Patrick Henry, and the gentlemen vol- 
unteers who attended him, for their proper and spirited 
conduct." ° On the 26th of May, Loudoun County de- 
clared its cordial approval.^ On the 9th of June, the 
volunteer company of Lancaster County resolved " that 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 540, 541. ? poid. ij. 529. 

3 Ibid. ii. 539, 540. 4 Ibid. ii. 641. 

5 Ibid. ii. 667. 6 ibid. ii. 710, 711. 



146 PATRICK HENRY. 

every member of this company do return thanks to the 
worthy Captain Patrick Henry and the volunteer com- 
pany of Hanover, for their spirited conduct on a late 
expedition, and they are determined to protect him from 
any insult that may be offered him, on that account, at 
the risk of life and fortune."^ On the 19th of June, 
resolutions of gratitude and confidence were voted by 
the counties of Prince Edward and of Frederick, the 
latter saying : " We should blush to be thus late in our 
commendations of, and thanks to, Patrick Henry, Es- 
quire, for his patriotic and spirited behavior in making 
reprisals for the powder so unconstitutionally. . . taken 
from the public magazine, could we liave entertained a 
thought that any part of the colony would have con- 
demned a measure calculated for the benefit of the 
whole ; but as we are informed this is the case, we beg 
leave ... to assure that gentleman that we did from 
the first, and still do, most cordially approve and com- 
mend his conduct in that affair. The good people of 
this county will never fail to approve and support him 
to the utmost of their powers in every action derived 
from so rich a source as the love of his country. We 
heartily thank him for stepping forth to convince the 
tools of despotism that freeborn men are not to be in- 
timidated, by any form of danger, to submit to the arbi- 
trary acts of their rulers." ^ On the 10th of July, the 
county of Fincastle prolonged the strain of public affec- 
tion and applause by assuring Patrick Henry that it 
would support and justify him at the risk of life and 
fortune.^ 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 938. 2 ibid. ii. 1024. 

3 Ibid. ii. 1620, 1621. For notable comments on Patrick Henry's 
"striking and lucky coup de mairiy^^ see Rives, Life of Madison, i. 
93, 94 ; Works of Jefferson, i. 116, 117 ; Charles Mackay, Founders 
of the American Republic. 232-234; 327. 



THE RAPE OF THE GUNPOWDER. 147 

In the mean time, the second continental congress 
had already convened at Philadelphia, beginning its 
work on the 10th of May. The journal mentions the 
presence, on that day, of all the delegates from Vir- 
ginia, excepting Patrick Henry, who, of course, had 
been delayed in his preparations for the journey by 
the events which we have just described. Not until 
the 11th of May was he able to set out from his home ; 
and he was then accompanied upon his journey, to a 
point beyond the borders of the colony, by a spon- 
taneous escort of armed men, — a token, not only of the 
popular love for him, but of the popular anxiety lest 
Dunmore should take the occasion of an unprotected 
journey to put him under arrest. " Yesterday," says 
a document dated at Hanover, May the 12th, 1775, 
" Patrick Henry, one of the delegates for this colony, 
escorted by a number of respectable young gentlemen, 
volunteers from this and King William and Caroline 
counties, set out to attend the general congress. They 
proceeded with him as far as Mrs. Hooe's ferry, on the 
Potomac, by whom they were most kindly and hospi- 
tably entertained, and also provided with boats and 
hands to cross the river ; and after partaking of this 
lady's beneficence, the bulk of the company took their 
leave of Mr. Henry, saluting him with two platoons 
and repeated huzzas. A guard accompanied that worthy 
gentleman to the Maryland side, who saw him safely 
landed ; and committing him to the gracious and wise 
Disposer of all human events, to guide and protect him 
whilst contending for a restitution of our dearest rights 
and liberties, they wished him a safe journey, and happy 
return to his family and friends." ^ 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 541. 



CHAPTER XL 

IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 

On Thursday, the 18th of May, Patrick Henry took 
his seat in the second continental congress ; and he ap- 
pears thenceforward to have continued in attendance 
until the very end of the session, which occurred on the 
1st of August. From the official journal of this con- 
gress, it is impossible to ascertain the full extent of any 
member's participation in its work. Its proceedings 
were transacted in secret ; and only such results were 
announced to the public as, in the opinion of congress, 
it was desirable that the public should know. Then, too> 
from the private correspondence and the diaries of its 
members but little help can be got. As affecting Pat- 
rick Henry, almost the only non-official testimony that 
has been found is that of Jefferson, who, however, did 
Dot enter this congress until its session was half gone, 
and who, forty years afterward, wrote what he proba- 
bly supposed to be his recollections concerning his old 
friend's deportment and influence in that body : " I 
found Mr. Henry to be a silent and almost unmeddling 
member in congress. On the original opening of that 
body, while general grievances were the topic, he was 
in his element, and captivated all by his bold and 
splendid eloquence. But as soon as they came to 
specific matters, to sober reasoning and solid argument- 
ation, he had the good sense to perceive that his dec- 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 149 

lamation, however excellent in its proper place, had 
no weight at all in such an assembly as that, of cool- 
headed, reflecting, judicious men. He ceased, there- 
fore, in a great measure, to take any part in the busi- 
ness. He seemed, indeed, very tired of the place, and 
wonderfully relieved when, by appointment of the Vir- 
ginia convention to be colonel of their first regiment, 
he was permitted to leave congress, about the last of 
July.^i 

Perhaps the principal value of this testimony is to 
serve as an illustration of the extreme fragility of any 
man's memory respecting events long passed, even in 
his own experience. Thus, Jefferson here remembers 
how "wonderfully relieved" Patrick Henry was at 
being " permitted to leave congress " on account of his 
appointment by the Virginia convention " to be colonel 
of their first regiment." But, from the official records 
of the time, it can now be shown that neither of the 
things which Jefferson thus remembers, ever had any 
existence in fact. In the first place, the journal of the 
Virginia convention ^ indicates that Patrick Henry's 
appointment as colonel could not have been the occa- 
sion of any such relief from congressional duties as 
Jefferson speaks of ; for that appointment was not 
made until five days after congress itself had ad- 
journed, when, of course, Patrick Henry and his fel- 
low delegates, including Jefferson, were already far 
advanced on their journey back to Virginia. In the 
second place, the journal of congress ^ indicates that 
Patrick Henry had no such relief from congressional 
duties, on any account, but was bearing his full share in 

1 Hist. Mag. for Aug. 1867, 92. 

2 4 Am. Arch., iii. 375. 8 Ibid. ii. 1902. 



150 PATRICK HENRY. 

its business, even in the plainest and most practical de- 
tails, down to the very end of the session. 

Any one who now recalls the tremendous events that 
were taking place in the land while the second conti- 
nental congress was in session, and the immense ques- 
tions of policy and of administration with which it had 
to deal, will find it hard to believe that its deliberations 
were out of the range of Patrick Henry's sympathies 
or capacities, or that he could have been the listless, 
speechless, and ineffective member depicted by the later 
pen of Jefferson. When that congress first came to- 
gether, the blood was as yet hardly dry on the grass in 
Lexington Common ; on the very morning on which its 
session opened, the colonial troops burst into the strong- 
hold at Ticonderoga ; and when the session had lasted 
but six weeks, its members were conferring together 
over the ghastly news from Bunker Hill. The organi- 
zation of some kind of national government for thirteen 
colonies precipitated into a state of war ; the creation 
of a national army ; the selection of a commander-in- 
chief, and of the officers to serve under him ; the hur- 
ried fortification of coasts, harbors, cities ; the supply of 
the troops with clothes, tents, weapons, ammunition, 
food, medicine ; protection against the Indian tribes 
along the frontier of nearly every colony ; the good- 
will of the people of Canada, and of Jamaica ; a solemn, 
final appeal to the king and to the people of England ; 
an appeal to the people of Ireland; finally, a grave 
statement to all mankind of " the causes and necessity 
of their taking up arms," — these were among the 
weighty and soul-stirring matters which the second con- 
tinental congress had to consider and to decide upon. 
For any man to say, forty years afterward, even though 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 151 

he say it with all the authority of the renown of Thomas 
Jefferson, that, in the presence of such questions, the 
spirit of Patrick Henry was dull or unconcerned, and 
that, in a congress which had to deal with such ques- 
tions, he was " a silent and almost unmeddling mem- 
ber," is to put a strain upon human confidence which it 
is unable to bear. 

The formula by which the daily labors of this con- 
gress are frequently described in its own journal is, 
that " congress met according to adjournment, and, 
agreeable to the order of the day, again resolved itself 
into a committee of the whole to take into consideration 
the state of America ; and after some time spent therein, 
the president resumed the chair, and Mr. Ward, from 
the committee, reported that they had proceeded in the 
business, but, not having completed it, desired him to 
move for leave to sit again." ^ And although, from the 
beginning to the end of the session, no mention is made 
of any word spoken in debate by any member, we can 
yet glean, even from that meagre record, enough to 
prove that upon Patrick Henry was laid about as much 
labor in the form of committee-work as upon any other 
member of the house, — a fair test, it is believed, of any 
man's zeal, industry, and influence in any legislative 
body. 

Further, it will be noted that the committee-work to 
which he was thus assigned was often of the homeliest 
and most prosaic kind, calling not for declamatory gifts, 
but for common sense, discrimination, experience, and 
knowledge of men and things. He seems, also, to have 
had special interest and authority in the several anxious 
phases of the Indian question as presented by the 
1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 1834. 



152 PATRICK HENRY, 

exigencies of that awful crisis, and to have been placed 
on every committee that was appointed to deal with 
any branch of the subject. Thus, on the 16th of June, 
he was placed with General Schuyler, James Duane, 
James Wilson, and Philip Livingston, on a committee 
" to take into consideration the papers transmitted from 
the convention of New York, relative to Indian affairs, 
and report what steps, in their opinion, are necessary to 
be taken for securing and preserving the friendship of 
the Indian nations." ^ On the 19th of June, he served 
with John Adams and Thomas Lynch on a committee 
to inform Charles Lee of his appointment as second 
major-general ; and when Lee's answer imported that 
his situation and circumstances as a British officer re- 
quired some further and very careful negotiations with 
congress, Patrick Henry was placed upon the special 
committee to which this delicate business was intrusted.^ 
On the 21st of June, the very day on which, according 
to the journal, " Mr. Thomas Jefferson appeared as a 
delegate for the colony of Virginia, and produced his 
credentials," his colleague, Patrick Henry, rose in his 
place and stated that Washington " had put into his 
hand sundry queries, to which he desired the congress 
would give an answer." These queries necessarily in- 
volved subjects of serious concern to the cause for 
which they were about to plunge into war, and would 
certainly require for their consideration " cool-headed, 
reflecting, and judicious men." The committee ap- 
pointed for the purpose consisted of Silas Deane, Pat- 
rick Henry, John Rutledge, Samuel Adams, and Rich- 
ard Henry Lee.^ On the 10th of July, " Mr. Alsop 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 1849. 2 ibid. ii. 1850, 1851. 

8 Ibid. ii. 1852. 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 153 

informed the congress that he had an invoice of Indian 
goods, which a gentleman in this town had delivered to 
him, and which the said gentleman was willing to dis- 
pose of to the congress." The committee " to examine 
the said invoice and report to the congress " was com- 
posed of Philip Livingston, Patrick Henry, and John 
Alsop.-^ On the 12th of July, it was resolved to or- 
ganize three departments for the management of Indian 
affairs, the commissioners to " have power to treat with 
the Indians in their respective departments, in the name 
and on behalf of the United Colonies, in order to pre- 
serve peace and friendship with the said Indians, and to 
prevent their taking any part in the present commo- 
tions." On the following day the commissioners for 
the middle department were elected, namely, Franklin, 
Patrick Henry, and James Wilson.^ On the 17th of 
July, a committee was appointed to negotiate with the 
Indian missionary, the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, respect- 
ing his past and future services among the Six Nations, 
" in order to secure their friendship, and to continue 
them in a state of neutrality with respect to the present 
controversy between Great Britain and these colonies." 
This committee consisted of Thomas Gushing, Patrick 
Henry, and Silas Deane.^ Finally, on the 31st of July, 
next to the last day of the session, a committee con- 
sisting of one member for each colony was appointed 
to serve -in the recess of Congress, for the very practical 
and urgent purpose of inquiring " in all the colonies 
after virgin lead and leaden ore, and the best methods 
of collecting, smelting, and refining it ; " also, after " the 
cheapest and easiest methods of making salt in these 

1 4 Am. Arch., ii. 1878. 2 ibid. ii. 1879, 1883. 

8 Ibid. ii. 1884, 1885. 



154 PATRICK HENRY. 

colonies." This was not a committee on which any 
man could be useful who had only " declamation " to 
contribute to its work ; and the several colonies were 
represented upon it by their most sagacious and their 
weightiest men, — as New Hampshire by Langdon, 
Massachusetts by John Adams, Rhode Island by Ste- 
phen Hopkins, Pennsylvania by Franklin, Delaware by 
Rodney, South Carolina by Gadsden, Virginia by Pat- 
rick Henry.^ 

On the day on which this committee was appointed, 
Patrick Henry wrote to Washington, then at the head- 
quarters of the army near Boston, a letter which de- 
noted on the part of the writer a perception, unusual at 
that time, of the gravity and duration of the struggle 
on which the colonies were just entering: — 

" Philadelphia, July Zlst, 1775. 
" Sir, — Give me leave to recommend the bearer, M5 
Frazer, to your notice and regard. He means to enter 
the American camp, and there to gain that experience, 
of which the general cause may be avail'd. It is my 
earnest wish that many Virginians might see service. 
It is not unlikely that in the fluctuation of things our 
country may have occasion for great military exertions. 
For this reason I have taken the liberty to trouble you 
with this and a few others of the same tendency. The 
public good which you, sir, have so eminently promoted, 
is my only motive. That you may enjoy the protection 
of Heaven and live long and happy is the ardent wish 
of, " Sir, 

" Y^ mo. ob* hbl serv., 

" P. Henry, Jr.^ 

" His Excellency Genl Washington." 

1 4 Jw. Arch., ii. 1902. 2 MS. 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 

On the following day Congress adjourned. As soon 
as possible after its adjournment, the Virginia delegates 
seem to have departed for home, to take their places in 
the convention then in session at Richmond ; for the 
journal of that convention mentions that on Wednes- 
day, August the 9th, " Patrick Henry, Edmund Pendle- 
ton, Benjamin Harrison, and Thomas Jefferson, Es- 
quires, appeared in convention, and took their seats." ^ 
On the next day an incident occurred in the conven- 
tion implying that Patrick Henry, during his absence 
in congress, had been able to serve his colony by other 
gifts as well as by those of " bold and splendid elo- 
quence : " it was resolved that " the powder purchased 
by Patrick Henry, Esquire, for the use of this colony, 
be immediately sent for." ^ On the day following that, 
the convention resolved unanimously that " the thanks of 
this convention are justly due to his excellency, George 
Washington, Esquire, Patrick Henry, and Edmund 
Pendleton, Esquires, three of the worthy delegates who 
represented this colony in the late continental con- 
gress, for their faithful discharge of that important 
trust ; and this body are only induced to dispense with 
their future services of the like kind, by the appoint- 
ment of the two former to other offices in the public 
service, incompatible with their attendance on this, and 
the infirm state of health of the latter." * 

Of course, the two appointments here referred to are 
of Washington as commander-in-chief of the forces of 
the United Colonies, and of Patrick Henry as com- 
mander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia, — the latter 
appointment having been made by the Virginia conven- 

1 4 Am. Arch., iii. 377. 2 ibid. iii. 377, 378. 

3 4 Ibid. iii. 378. 



PATRICK HENRY. 

tion on the 5th of August. The commission, which 
passed the convention on the 28th of that month, 
constituted Patrick Henry " colonel of the first regi- 
ment of regulars, and commander-in-chief of all the 
forces to be raised for the protection and defence of this 
colony ; " and while it required " all officers and soldiers, 
and every person whatsoever, in any way concerned, to 
be obedient" to him, "in all things touching the due 
execution of this commision," it also required him to be 
obedient to " all orders and instructions which, from 
time to time," he might "receive from the conven- 
tion or committee of safety." ^ Accordingly, Patrick 
Henry's control of military proceedings in Virginia 
was, as it proved, nothing more than nominal : it was a 
supreme command on paper, tempered in actual expe- 
rience by the incessant and distrustful interference of 
an ever-present body of civilians, who had all power 
over him. 

A newspaper of Williamsburg for the 23d of Sep- 
tember announces the arrival there, two days before, 
of " Patrick Henry, Esquire, commander-in-chief of the 
Virginia forces. He was met and escorted to town by 
the whole body of volunteers, who paid him every mark 
of respect and distinction in their power." ^ Thereupon 
he inspected the grounds about the city ; and as a place 
suitable for the encampment, he fixed upon a site in the 
rear of the College of William and Mary. Soon troops 
began to arrive in considerable numbers, and to prepare 
themselves for whatever service might be required of 
them.^ There was, however, a sad lack of arms and 
ammunition. On the loth of October, Pendleton, who 

1 4 Am. Arch., iii. 393. See, also, his oath of office, Ibid. iii. 411. 
2Ibid. iii. 776. 3 Wirt, 359. 



IN CONGBESS AND IN CAMP. 157 

was at the head of the committee of safety, gave this 
account of the situation in a letter to Richard Henry- 
Lee, then in congress at Philadelphia : " Had we arms 
and ammunitioQ, it would give vigor to our measures. 
. . . Nine companies of regulars are here, and seem 
very '^le""^.' men ; others, we hear, are ready, and only 
wait to collect arms. Lord Dunmore's forces are only 
one hundred and sixty as yet, intrenched at Gosport, 
and supported by the ships drawn up before that and 
Norfolk." 1 On the oOth of November, Lord Dun- 
more, who had been compelled by the smallness of his 
land force to take refuge upon his armed vessels off the 
coast, thus described the situation, in a letter to General 
Sir William Howe, then in command at Boston : " I 
must inform you that with our little corps, I think we 
have done wonders. We have taken and destroyed above 
four score pieces of ordnance, and, by landing in differ- 
ent parts of the country, we keep them in continual hot 
water. . . . Having heard that a thousand chosen men 
belonging to the rebels, great part of whom were rifle- 
men, were on their march to attack us here, or to cut 
off our provisions, I determined to take possession of the 
pass at the Great Bridge, which secures us the greatest 
part of two counties to supply us with provisions. I 
accordingly ordered a stockade fort to be erected there, 
which was done in a few days ; and I put an officer and 
twenty-five men to garrison it, with some volunteers 
and negroes, who have defended it against all the efforts 
of the rebels for these eight days. We have killed 
several of their men ; and I make no doubt we shall 
now be able to maintain our ground there ; but should 
we be obliged to abandon it, we have thiown up an in- 
1 4 Am. Arch., iii. 1067. 



158 PATRICK HENRY. 

trenchment on the land side of Norfolk, which I hope 
they will never be able to force. Here we are, with 
only the small part of a regiment, contending against 
the extensive colony of Virginia." ^ 

But who were these " thousand chosen men belong- 
ing to the rebels," who, on their march to attack Lord 
Dun more at Norfolk, had thus been held in check by 
his little fort at the Great Bridge ? We are told by 
Dun more himself that they were Virginia troops. But 
why was not Patrick Henry in immediate command of 
them? Why was Patrick Henry held back from this 
service, — the only active service then to be had in the 
field? And why was the direction of this important 
enterprise given to his subordinate. Colonel William 
Woodford, of the second regiment ? There is abundant 
evidence that Patrick Henry had eagerly desired to con- 
duct this expedition ; that he had even solicited the 
committee of safety to permit him to do so ; but that 
they, distrusting his military capacity, overruled his 
wishes, and gave this fine opportunity for military dis- 
tinction to the officer next below him in command. 
Moreover, no sooner had Colonel Woodford departed 
upon the service, than he began to ignore altogether 
the commander-in-chief, and to make his communica- 
tions directly to the committee of safety, — a course in 
which he was virtually sustained by that body, on ap- 
peal being made to them. Furthermore, on the 9th 
of December, Colonel Woodford won a brilliant victory 
over the enemy at the Great Bridge,^ thus apparently 
justifying to the public the wisdom of the committee in 

1 4 Am. Arch., iii. 1713-1715. 

2 Graphic contemporary accounts of this battle may be found in 
4 Am. Arch., iv. 224, 228, 229. 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 159 

assigning the work to him, and also throwing still more 
into the background the commander-in-chief, who was 
then chafing in camp over his enforced retirement from 
this duty. But this was not the only cup of humiliation 
which was pressed to his lips. Not long afterward, 
there arrived at the seat of war a few hundred North 
Carolina troops, under command of Colonel Robert 
Howe ; and the latter, with the full consent of Wood- 
ford, at once took command of their united forces, and 
thenceforward addressed his official letters solely to the 
convention of Virginia, or to the committee of safety, 
paying not the slightest attention to the commander-in- 
chief.-^ Finally on the 28th of December, congress 
decided to raise in Virginia six battalions to be taken 
into continental pay ; ^ and, by a subsequent vote, it 
likewise resolved to include within these six battalions 
the first and the second Virginia regiments already 
raised.' A commission was accordingly sent to Patrick 
Henry as colonel of the first Virginia battalion,* — an 
official intimation that the expected commission of a 
brigadier-general for Virginia was to be given to some 
one else. 

On receiving this last affront, Patrick Henry deter- 
mined to lay down his military appointments, which he 
did on the 28th of February, 1776, and at once pre- 
pared to leave the camp. As soon as this news got 
abroad among the troops, they all, according to a con- 
temporary account, ® " went into mourning, and, under 
arms, waited on him at his lodgings," when his officers 
presented to him an affectionate address : — 

1 Wirt, 178. 2 4 Am. Arch., iii. 1962. 

8 4 Am. Arch., iv. 1669. 4 ibid. iv. 1517. 

6 Ibid. iv. 1515. 1516. 



160 PATRICK HENRY. 

" To Patrick Henry, Junior, Esquire : 

" Deeply impressed with a grateful sense of the obli- 
gations we lie under to you for the polite, humane, and 
tender treatment manifested to us throughout the whole 
of your conduct, while we have had the honor of being 
under your command, permit us to offer to you our sin- 
cere thanks, as the only tribute we have in our power to 
pay to your real merits. Notwithstanding your with- 
drawing yourself from service fills us with the most poig- 
nant sorrow, as it at once deprives us of our father and 
general, yet, as gentlemen, we are compelled to applaud 
your spirited resentment to the most glaring indignity. 
May your merit shine as conspicuous to the world in 
general as it hath done to us, and may Heaven shower 
its choicest blessings upon you. 

"Williamsburg, February 29, 1776." 

His reply to this warm-hearted message was in the 
following words : — 

" Gentlemen, — I am extremely obliged to you for 
your approbation of my conduct. Your address does 
me the highest honor. This kind testimony of your 
regard to me would have been an ample reward for 
services much greater than I have had the power to 
perform. I return you, and each of you, gentlemen, 
my best acknowledgments for the spirit, alacrity, and 
zeal you have constantly shown in your several sta- 
tions. I am unhappy to part with you. I leave the 
service, but I leave my heart with you. May God bless 
you, and give you success and safety, and make you the 
glorious instruments of saving our country." ^ 

1 4 Am. Arch., iv. 1516 ; also, Wirt, 180, 181. 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 161 

The grief and indignation thus exhibited by the 
officers who had served under Patrick Henry soon 
showed itself in a somewhat violent manner among the 
men. The "Virginia Gazette " for that time states that, 
" after the officers had received Colonel Henry's kind 
answer to their address, they insisted upon his dining 
with them at the Raleigh Tavern, before his departure; 
and after the dinner, a number of them proposed escort- 
ing him out of town, but were prevented by some un- 
easiness getting among the soldiery, who assembled in 
a tumultuous manner and demanded their discharge, 
and declaring their unwillingness to serve under any 
other commander. Upon which Colonel Henry found 
it necessary to stay a night longer in town, which he 
spent in visiting the several barracks ; and used every 
argument in his power with the soldiery to lay aside 
their imprudent resolution, and to continue in the ser- 
vice, which he had quitted from motives in which his 
honor alone was concerned." ^ Moreover, several days 
after he had left the camp altogether and had returned 
to his home, he was followed by an address signed by 
ninety officers belonging not only to his own regiment, 
but to that of Colonel Woodford, — a document which 
has no little value as presenting strongly one side of 
contemporary military opinion respecting Patrick 
Henry's career as a soldier, and the treatment to which 
he had been subjected. 

" Sir, — Deeply concerned for the good of our coun- 
try, we sincerely lament the unhappy necessity of your 
resignation, and with all the warmth of affection assure 
you that, whatever may have given rise to the indignity 
1 4 Am. Arch., iv. 1516. 



162 PATRICK HENRY. 

lately offered to you, we join with the general voice of 
the people, and think it our duty to naake this public 
declaration of our high respect for your distinguished 
merit. To your vigilance and judgment, as a senator, 
this United Continent bears ample testimony, while she 
prosecutes her steady opposition to those destructive 
ministerial measures which your eloquence first pointed 
out and taught to resent, and your resolution led for- 
ward to resist. To your extensive popularity the ser- 
vice, also, is greatly indebted for the expedition with 
which the troops were raised ; and while they were con- 
tinued under your command, the firmness, candor, and 
politeness, which formed the complexion of your con- 
duct towards them, obtained the signal approbation of 
the wise and virtuous, and will leave upon our minds 
the most grateful impression. 

''Although retired from the immediate concerns of 
war, we solicit the continuance of your kindly attention. 
We know your attachment to the best of causes ; we 
have the fullest confidence in your abilities, and in the 
rectitude of your views ; and, however willing the en- 
vious may be to undermine an established reputation, we 
trust the day will come when justice shall prevail, and 
thereby secure you an honorable and happy return to 
the glorious employment of conducting our councils and 
hazarding your life in the defence of your country." ^ 

The public agitation over the alleged wrong which 
had thus been done to Patrick Henry during his brief 
military career, and which had brought that career to 
its abrupt and painful close, seems to have continued for 
a considerable time. Throughout the colony the blame 
1 4 Am. Arch,, iv. 1516, 1517. 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 163 

was openly and bluntly laid upon the committee of 
safety, who, on account of envy, it was said, had tried 
" to bury in obscurity his martial talents." ^ On the 
other hand, the course pursued by that committee was 
ably defended by many, on the ground that Patrick 
Henry, with all his great gifts for civil life, really had 
no fitness for a leading military position. One writer 
asserted that even in the convention which had elected 
Patrick Henry as commander-in-chief, it was objected 
that " his studies had been directed to civil and not to 
military pursuits ; that he was totally unacquainted with 
the art of war, and had no knowledge of military disci- 
pline; and that such a person was very unfit to be at the 
head of troops who were likely to be engaged with a 
well-disciplined army, commanded by experienced and 
ible generals."^ In the very middle of the period of 
-lis nominal military service, this opinion of his unfit- 
aess was still more strongly urged by the chairman of 
;he committee of safety, who, on the 24th of December, 
1775, said in a letter to Colonel Woodford : " Believe 
;ne, sir, the unlucky step of calling that gentleman from 
our councils, where he was useful, into the field, in an 
important station, the duties of which he must, in the 
lature of things, be an entire stranger to, has given me 
nany an anxious and uneasy moment. In consequence 
)f this mistaken step, which can't now be retracted or 
■emedied, — for he has done nothing worthy of degra- 
lation, and must keep his rank, — we must be deprived 
)f the service of some able officers, whose honor and 
former ranks will not suffer them to act under him in 
chis juncture, when we so much need their services." ^ 
This seems to have been, in substance, the impression 

1 4 Am. Arch., iv. 1518. 2 ibid. iv. 1519. 3 wirt, 175. 



164 PATRICK HENRY. 

concerning Patrick Henry held at that time by at 1 f..^ 
two friendly and most competent observers, who v -■ ,< 
then looking on from a distance, and who, of con. 
were beyond the range of any personal or partisan pr«-j~ 
iidice upon the subject. Writing from Cambridge, on 
the 7th of March, 1776, before he had received 'Ve 
news of Henry's resignation, Washington said to Josbf/.i 
Reed, then at Philadelphia : " I think my country in. e,j. 
made a capital mistake when they took Henry out of 
the senate to place him in the field ; and pity it is tlar 
he does not see this, and remove every difficulty b3 :;, 
voluntary resignation." ^ On the 15th of that mom i. 
Reed, in reply, gave to Washington this bit of new - 
" We have some accounts from Virginia that Colon -X 
Henry has resigned in disgust at not being made a ge 
eral officer ; but it rather gives satisfaction than othe - 
wise, as his abilities seem better calculated for the sei 
ate than the field." ^ 

Nevertheless, in all these contemporary judgmen ? 
upon the alleged military defects of Patrick Henry, r ) 
reader can now fail to note an embarrassing lack < f 
definiteness, and a tendency to infer that, because thj 5 
great man was so great in civil life, as a matter ( ■' 
course, he could not be great, also, in military life, — .>. 
proposition that could be overthrown by numberle;-. 
historical examples to the contrary. It would great' ^ 
aid us if we could know precisely what, in actual e -: 
perience, were the defects found in Patrick Henry ri:i 
a military man, and precisely how these defects were 
exhibited by him in the camp at Williamsburg. In tiki 
writings of that period, no satisfaction upon this poi::Jt 

1 Writings of Washington, iii. 309. 

2 W. B. Reed, Life of Joseph Reed, i. 173. 



IN CONGRESS AND IN CAMP. 165 

seems thus far to have been obtaiued. There is, how- 
ever, a piece of later testimony, derived by authentic 
tradition from a prominent member of the Virginia 
committee of safety, which really helps one to under- 
stand what may have been the exact difficulty with the 
military character of Patrick Henry, and just why, also, 
it could not be more plainly stated at the time. Clem- 
ent Carrington, a son of Paul Carrington, told Hugh 
Blair Grigsby that the real ground of the action of the 
committee of safety " was the want of discipline in the 
regiment under the command of Colonel Henry. None 
doubted his courage, or his alacrity to hasten to the 
field ; but it was plain that he did not seem to be con- 
scious of the importance of strict discipline in the army, 
but regarded his soldiers as so many gentlemen who had 
met to defend their country, and exacted from them 
little more than the courtesy that was proper among 
equals. To have marched to the sea-board at that time 
with a regiment of such men, would have been to in- 
sure their destruction ; and it was a thorough convic- 
tion of this truth that prompted the decision of the com- 
mittee." ^ 

Yet, even with this explanation, the truth remains 
that Patrick Henry, as commander-in-chief of the Vir- 
ginia forces, never was permitted to take command, or 
to see any real service in the field, or to look upon the 
face of an armed enemy, or to show, in the only way in 
which it could be shown, whether or not he had the 
gifts of a military leader in action. As an accomplished 
and noble-minded Virginian of our own time has said : 
" It may be doubted whether he possessed those quali- 
ties which make a wary partisan, and which are so 
1 Grigsby, Va. Conv. of 1776, 52, 53, note. 



166 PATRICK HENRY. 

often possessed in an eminent degree by uneducated 
men. Regular fighting there was none in the colony, 
until near the close of the war. . . . The most skilful 
partisan in the Virginia of that day, covered as it was 
with forests, cut up by streams, and beset by predatory 
bands, would have been the Indian warrior ; and as a 
soldier approached that model, would he have possessed 
the proper tactics for the time. That Henry would not 
have made a better Indian fighter than Jay, or Living- 
ston, or the Adamses, that he might not have made as 
dashing a partisan as Tarleton or Simcoe, his friends 
might readily afford to concede ; but that he evinced, 
what neither Jay, nor Livingston, nor the Adamses did 
evince, a determined resolution to stake his reputation 
and his life on the issue of arms, and that he resigned 
his commission when the post of imminent danger was 
refused him, exhibit a lucid proof that, whatever may 
have been his ultimate fortune, he was not deficient in 
two grand elements of military success, — personal en- 
terprise, and unquestioned courage." ^ 

1 Grigsby, Va. Com. of 1776, 151, 152. 



CHAPTER XII. 

INDEPENDENCE. 

Upon this mortifying close of a military career which 
had opened with so much expectation and even eclat, 
Patrick Henry returned, early in March, 1776, to his 
home in the county of Hanover, — a home on which 
then rested the shadow of a great sorrow. In the 
midst of the public engagements and excitements which 
absorbed him during the previous year, his wife, Sarah, 
the wife of his youth, the mother of his six children, 
had passed away. His own subsequent release from 
public labor, however bitter in its occasion, must have 
brought to him a great solace in the few weeks of re- 
pose which he then had under his own roof, with the 
privilege of ministering to the happiness of his mother- 
less children, and of enjoying once more their loving 
companionship and sympathy. 

But in such a crisis of his country's fate, such a man 
as Patrick Henry could not be permitted long to remain 
in seclusion ; and the promptness and the heartiness 
with which he was now summoned back into the ser- 
vice of the public as a civilian, after the recent humilia- 
tions of his military career, were accented, perhaps, on 
the part of his neighbors, by something of the fervor of 
intended compensation, if not of intended revenge. For, 
in the mean time, the American colonies had been 
swiftly advancing, along a path strewn with corpses 



168 PATRICK HENRY. 

and wet with blood, towards the doctrine that a total 
separation from the mother-country, — a thing hitherto 
contemplated by them only as a disaster and a crime, — 
might after all be neither, but on the contrary, the only 
resource left to them in their desperate struggle for po- 
litical existence. This supreme question, it was plain, 
was to confront the very next Virginia convention, 
which was under appointment to meet early in the 
coming May. Almost at once, therefore, after his re- 
turn home, Patrick Henry was elected by his native 
county to represent it in that convention. 

On Monday morning, the 6th of May, the conven- 
tion gathered at Williamsburg for its first meeting. 
On its roll of members we see many of those names 
which have become familiar to us in the progress of 
this history, — the names of those sturdy and well- 
trained leaders who guided Virginia during all that 
stormy period, — Pendleton, Gary, Mason, Nicholas, 
Bland, the Lees, Mann Page, Dudley Digges, Wythe, 
Edmund Randolph, and a few others. For the first 
time also, on such a roll, we meet the name of James 
Madison, an accomplished young political philosopher, 
then but four years from the inspiring instruction of 
President Witherspoon at Princeton. But while a few 
very able men had places in that convention, it was, at 
the time, by some observers thought to contain an un- 
usually large number of incompetent persons. Three 
days after the opening of the session Landon Carter 
wrote to Washington ; " I could have wished that 
ambition had not so visibly seized so much ignorance 
all over the colony, as it seems to have done ; for this 
present convention abounds with too many of the inex- 
perienced creatures to navigate our bark on this danger- 



INDEPENDENCE, 169 

ous coast ; so that I fear the few skilful pilots who have 
hitherto done tolerably well to keep her clear from de- 
struction, will not be able to conduct her with common 
safety any longer." ^ 

The earliest organization of the house was, on the 
part of the friends of Patrick Henry, made the occasion 
for a momentary flash of resentment against Edmund 
Pendleton, as the man who was believed by them to 
have been the guiding mind of the committee of safety 
in its long series of restraints upon the military activity 
of their chief. At the opening of the convention Pen- 
dleton was nominated for its president, — a most suit- 
able nomination, and one vrhich under ordinary circum- 
stances would have been carried by acclamation. 
Thomas Johnson, however, a staunch follower of Pat- 
rick Henry, at once presented an opposing candidate; 
and although Pendleton was elected, he was not elected 
without a contest, or without this significant hint that 
the fires of indignation against him were still burning 
in the hearts of a strong party in that house and through- 
out the colony. 

The convention lasted just two months lacking a day ; 
and in all the detail and drudgery of its business, as 
the journal indicates, Patrick Henry bore a very large 
part. In the course of the session, he seems to have 
served on perhaps a majority of all its committees. On 
the 6th of May, he was made a member of the com- 
mittee of privileges and elections ; on the 7th, of a com- 
mittee " to bring in an ordinance to encourage the mak- 
ing of salt, saltpetre, and gunpowder " ; on the 8th, of 
the committee on " propositions and grievances " ; on 
the 21st, of a committee "to inquire for a proper hos- 
1 4 Am. Arch., vi. 390. 



170 PATRICK HENRY, 

pital for the reception and accommodation of the sick 
and wounded soldiers " ; on the 22d, of a committee to 
inquire into the truth of a complaint made by the In- 
dians respecting encroachments on their lands ; on the 
23d, of a committee to bring in an ordinance for aug- 
menting the ninth regiment, for enlisting four troops 
of horse, and for raising men for the defence of the 
frontier counties ; on the 4th of June, of a committee 
to inquire into the causes for the depreciation of paper 
money in the colony, and into the rates at which goods 
are sold at the public store ; on the 14th of June, of a 
committee to prepare an address to be sent by Virginia 
to the Shawanese Indians; on the 15th of June, of a 
committee to bring in amendments to the ordinance for 
prescribing a mode of punishment for the enemies of 
America in this colony ; and on the 22d of June, of a 
committee to prepare an ordinance " for enabling the 
present magistrates to continue the administration of 
justice, and for settling the general mode of proceed- 
ings in criminal and other cases." The journal also 
mentions his frequent activity in the house in the pre- 
sentation of reports from some of these committees : for 
example, from the committee on propositions and griev- 
ances, on the 16th of May, on the 22d of May, and on 
the 15th of June. On the latter occasion, he made to 
the house three detailed reports on as many different 
topics.^ 

Of course, the question overshadowing all others in 
that convention, was the question of independence. 
General Charles Lee, whose military duties just then 
detained him at Williamsburg, and who was intently 
watching the currents of political thought in all the col- 

1 The journal of this convention is in 4 Am. Arch., vi. 1509-1616. 



INDEPENDENCE. 171 

onies, assured "Washington, in a letter written on the 
10th of May, that " a noble spirit" possessed the con- 
vention ; and that the members were " almost unani- 
mous for independence," the only disagreement being 
** in their sentiments about the mode." ^ That Patrick 
Henry was in favor of independence hardly needs to be 
mentioned ; yet it does need to be mentioned that he 
was araono; those who disagreed with some of his asso- 
ciates " about the mode." While he was as eager and 
as resolute for independence as any man, he doubted 
whether the time had then fully come for declaring in- 
dependence. He thought that the declaration should 
be so timed as to secure, beyond all doubt, two great 
conditions of success, — first, the firm union of the col- 
onies themselves, and secondly, the friendship of foreign 
powers, particularly of France and Spain. For these 
reasons, he would have had independence delayed until 
a confederation of the colonies could be established by 
written articles, which, he probably supposed, would 
take but a few weeks ; and also until American agents 
could have time to negotiate with the French and Span- 
ish courts. 

On the first day of the session. General Charles Lee, 
who was hot for an immediate declaration of indepen- 
dence, seems to have had a conversation upon the sub- 
ject with Patrick Henry, during which the latter stated 
his reasons for some postponement of the measure. 
This led General Lee, on the following day, to write to 
Henry a letter which is really remarkable, some pas- 
sages from which will help us the better to understand 
the public situation, as well as Patrick Henry's attitude 
towards it : — 

1 4 Am. Arch., vi. 406. 



172 PATRICK EENRY. 

"Williamsburg, May 7, 1776. 

" Dear Sir, — If I had not the highest opinion of your 
character and liberal way of thinking, I should not ven- 
ture to address myself to you. And if I were not equally 
persuaded of the great weight and influence which the 
transcendent abilities you possess must naturally con- 
fer, I should not give myself the trouble of writing, nor 
you the trouble of reading this long letter. Since our 
conversation yesterday, my thoughts have been solely 
employed on the great question, whether independence 
ought or ought not to be immediately declared. Having 
weighed the argument on both sides, I am clearly of 
the opinion that we must, as we value the liberties of 
America, or even her existence, without a moment's 
delay declare for independence. . . . The objection you 
made yesterday, if I understood you rightly, to an im- 
mediate declaration, was by many degrees the most 
specious, indeed, it is the only tolerable, one that I have 
yet heard. You say, and with great justice, that we 
ought previously to have felt the pulse of France and 
Spain. I more than believe, I am almost confident, 
that it has been done. . . . But admitting that we are 
utter strangers to their sentiments on the subject, and 
that we run some risk of this declaration being coldly 
received by these powers, such is our situation that the 
risk must be ventured. 

" On one side there are the most probable chances of 
our success, founded on the certain advantages which 
must manifest themselves to French understandings by 
a treaty of alliance with America. . . . The superior 
commerce and marine force of England were evidently 
established on the monopoly of her American trade. 
The inferiority of France, in these two capital points, 



INDEPENDENCE. 173 

consequently had its source in the same origin. Any 
deduction from this monopoly must bring down her 
rival in proportion to this deduction. The French are 
and always have been sensible of these great truths. . . . 
But allowing that there can be no certainty, but mere 
chances, in our favor, I do insist upon it that these 
chances render it our duty to adopt the measure, as, by 
procrastination, our ruin is inevitable. Should it now 
be determined to wait the result of a previous formal 
negotiation with France, a whole year must pass over 
our heads before we can be acquainted with the result. 
In the mean time, we are to struggle through a cam- 
paign, without arms, ammunition, or any one necessary 
of war. Disgrace and defeat will infallibly ensue ; the 
soldiers and officers will become so disappointed that 
they will abandon their colors, and probably never be 
persuaded to make another effort. 

" But there is another consideration still more cogent. 
I can assure you that the spirit of the people cries out 
for this declaration ; the military, in particular, men 
and officers, are outrageous on the subject ; and a man 
of your excellent discernment need not be told how 
dangerous it would be, in our present circumstances, to 
dally with the spirit, or disappoint the expectations, of 
the bulk of the people. May not despair, anarchy, and 
final submission be the bitter fruits ? I am firmly per- 
suaded that they will ; and, in this persuasion, I most 
devoutly pray that you may not merely recommend, but 
positively lay injunctions on, your servants in congress 
to embrace a measure so necessary to our salvation. 
"Yours, most sincerely, 

" Charles Lee." ^ 

1 6 Am. Arch.f i. 95-97. Campbell, in his History of Virginia, 



174 PATRICK HENRY. 

Just eight days after that letter was written, the Vir- 
ginia convention took what may, at first glance, seem to 
be the precise actioa therein described as necessary ; 
and moreover, they did so under the influence, in part, 
of Patrick Henry's powerful advocacy of it. On the 
15th of May, after considerable debate, one hundred 
and twelve members being present, the convention 
unanimously resolved, " That the delegates appointed 
to represent this colony in general congress be instruct- 
ed to propose to that respectable body to declare the 
United Colonies free and independent states, absolved 
from all allegiance to, or dependence upon, the crown 
or parliament of Great Britain ; and that they give the 
assent of this colony to such declaration, and to what- 
ever measures may be thought proper and necessary by 
the congress for forming foreign alliances and a confed- 
eration of the colonies, at such time, and in the manner, 
as to them shall seem best : provided, that the power of 
forming government for, and the regulations of the in- 
ternal concerns of, each colony, be left to the respective 
colonial legislatures." ^ 

On the testimony of Edmund Randolph, who was a 
member of the convention, it is now known that this 
momentous resolution "was drawn by Pendleton, was 
offered in convention by Nelson, and was advocated on 
the floor by Henry." ^ Any one who will carefully 
study it, however, will discover that this resolution was 
the result of a compromise ; and especially, that it is so 
framed as to meet Patrick Henry's views, at least to 

645, 646, commits a rather absurd error in attributing this letter to 
Thomas Nelson, Jr. 

1 4 Am. Arch., vi. 1524. 

2 Randolph's address at the funeral of Pendleton, mVa. Gazette for 
2 Nov. 1803, and cited by Grigsby, Va. Conv. o/1776, 203, 204. 



INDEPENDENCE. 176 

the extent of avoiding the demand for an immediate 
declaration, and of leaving it to congress to determine 
the time and manner of making it. Accordingly, in 
letters of his, written five days afterward to his most 
intimate friends in congress, we see that his mind was 
still full of anxiety about the two great prerequisites, — 
a certified union among the colonies, and a friendly ar- 
rangement with France. " Ere this reaches you," he 
wrote to Richard Henry Lee, " our resolution for sepa- 
rating from Britain will be handed you by Colonel 
Nelson. Your sentiments as to the necessary progress 
of this great affair correspond with mine. For may not 
France, ignorant of the great advantages to her commerce 
we intend to offer, and of the permanency of that sepa- 
ration which is to take place, be allured by the partition 
you mention ? To anticipate, therefore, the efforts of 
the enemy by sending instantly American ambassadors 
to France, seems to me absolutely necessary. Delay 
may bring on us total ruin. But is not a confederacy 
of our states previously necessary ? " ^ 

On the same day, he wrote, also, a letter to John 
Adams, in which he developed still more vigorously his 
views as to the true order in which the three great 
measures, — confederation, foreign alliances, and inde- 
pendence, — should be dealt with : " Before th^s reaches 
you, the resolution for finally separating from Britain 
will be handed to congress by Colonel Nelson. I put up 
with it in the present form for the sake of unanimity. 
'T is not quite so pointed as I could wish. Excuse me 
for telling you of what I think of immense importance ; 
'tis to anticipate the enemy at the French court. The 

1 S. Lit. Messenger iox 1842 ; theuce given in Campbell, Hist. Va.y 
647, 648. 



176 PATRICK HENRY. 

half of our continent offered to France, may induce her 
to aid our destruction, which she certainly has the power 
to accomplish. I know the free trade with all the 
states would be more beneficial to her than any territo- 
rial possessions she might acquire. But pressed, allured, 
as she will be, — but, above all, ignorant of the great 
thing we mean to offer, — may we not lose her ? The 
consequence is dreadful. Excuse me again. The con- 
federacy : — that must precede an open declaration of 
independency and foreign alliances. Would it not be 
sufficient to confine it, for the present, to the objects of 
offensive and defensive nature, and a guaranty of the re- 
spective colonial rights? If a minute arrangement of 
things is attempted, such as equal representation, etc., 
etc., you may split and divide ; certainly will delay the 
French alliance, which with me is everything." ^ 

In the mean time, however, many of the people of Vir- 
ginia had received with enthusiastic approval the news 
of the great step taken by their convention on the 
15th of May. Thus " on the day following," says the 
" Virginia Gazette," published at Williamsburg, " the 
troops in this city, with the train of artillery, were drawn 
up and went through their firings and various other mili- 
tary manoeuvres, with the greatest exactness ; a conti- 
nental union flag was displayed upon the capitol ; and in 
the evening many of the inhabitants illuminated their 
houses." ^ Moreover, the great step taken by the Virginia 
convention, on the day just mentioned, committed that 
body to the duty of taking at once certain other steps of 
supreme importance. They were about to cast off the 
government of Great Britain : it was necessary for them, 

1 Worlcs of John Adams, iv. 201. 

2 4 Am. Arch., \i. 462. 



INDEPENDENCE. 177 

therefore, to provide some government to be put in the 
place of it. Accordingly, in the very same hour in 
which they instructed their delegates in congress to 
propose a declaration of independence, they likewise 
resolved, " That a committee be appointed to prepare a 
declaration of rights, and such a plan of government as 
will be most likely to maintain peace and order in this 
colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the 
people." ^ 

Of this committee, Patrick Henry was a member; 
and with him were associated Archibald Gary, Henry 
Lee, Nicholas, Edmund Randolph, Bland, Dudley 
Digges, Paul Carrington, Mann Page, Madison, George 
Mason, and others. The two tasks before the com- 
mittee — that of drafting a statement of rights, and 
that of drafting a constitution for the new state of Vir- 
ginia — must have pressed heavily upon its leading 
members. In the work of creating a new state govern- 
ment, Virginia was somewhat in advance of the other 
colonies ; and for this reason, as well as on account 
of its general preeminence among the colonies, the 
course which it should take in this crisis was watched 
with extraordinary attention. John Adams said, at the 
time, " we all look up to Virginia for examples." ^ Be- 
sides, in Virginia itself, as well as in the other colonies, 
there was an unsettled question as to the nature of the 
state governments which were then to be instituted. 
Should they be strongly aristocratic and conservative, 
with a possible place left for the monarchical feature ; 
or should the popular elements in each colony be more 
largely recognized, and a decidedly democratic char- 

1 4 Am. Arch., vi. 1524. 

2 Worhs of John Adams, ix. 387. 



178 PATRICK HENRY. 

acter given to these new constitutions ? On this ques- 
tion, two strong parties existed in Virginia. In the 
first place, there were the old aristocratic families, and 
those who sympathized with them. These people, nu- 
merous, rich, cultivated, influential, in objecting to the 
unfair encroachments of British authority, had by no 
means intended to object to the nature of the British 
constitution, and would have been pleased to see that 
constitution, in all its essential features, retained in 
Virginia. This party was led by such men as Robert 
Carter Nicholas, Carter Braxton, and Edmund Pendle- 
ton. In the second place, there were the democrats, 
the reformers, the radicals, — who were inclined to take 
the opportunity furnished by Virginia's rejection of 
British authority, as the occasion for rejecting, within 
the new state of Virginia, all the aristocratic and 
monarchical features of the British constitution itself. 
This party was led by such men as Patrick Henry, 
Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, and George 
Mason. Which party was to succeed in stamping its 
impress the more strongly on the new plan for govern- 
ment in Virginia ? 

Furthermore, it is important to observe that, on this 
very question then at issue in Virginia, two pamphlets, 
taking opposite sides, were, just at that moment, attract- 
ing the notice of Virginians, — both pamphlets being 
noble in tone, of considerable learning, very suggestive, 
and very well expressed. The first, entitled " Thoughts 
on Government," though issued anonymously, was soon 
known to be by John Adams. It advocated the forma- 
tion of state constitutions on the democratic model ; a 
lower house elected for a single year by the people ; 
this house to elect an upper house of twenty or thirty 



INDEPENDENCE. 179 

members, who were to have a negative on the lower 
house, and to serve, likewise, for a single year ; these 
two houses to elect a governor, who was to have a 
negative on them both, and whose term of office should 
also end with the year ; while the judges, and all other 
officers, civil or military, were either to be appointed 
by the governor with the advice of the upper house, or 
to be chosen directly by the two houses themselves.^ 
The second pamphlet, which was in part a reply to the 
first, was entitled " Address to the Convention of the 
Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia, on the sub- 
ject of Government in general, and recommending a par- 
ticular form to their consideration." It purported to be 
by " A Native of the Colony." Although the pamphlet 
was sent into Virginia under strong recommendations 
from Carter Braxton, one of the Virginian delegates in 
congress, the authorship was then unknown to the public. 
It advocated the formation of state constitutions on a 
model far less democratic : first, a lower house, the 
members of which were to be elected for three years by 
the people; secondly, an upper house of twenty four 
members, to be elected for life by the lower house; 
thirdly, a governor, to be elected for life by the lower 
house ; fourthly, all judges, all military officers, and all 
inferior civil ones, to be appointed by the governor.^ 

Such was the question over which the members of 
the committee, appointed on the 15th of May, must soon 
have come into sharp conflict. At its earliest meetings, 
apparently, Henry found the aristocratic tendencies of 
some of his associates so strong as to give him con- 
siderable uneasiness ; and by his letter to John Adams, 

1 John Adams's pamphlet is given in his Works, iv. 189-200. 

2 The pamphlet is giv^en in 4 Am. Arch., vi. 748-754. 



180 PATRICK HENRY. 

written on the 20th of the month, we may see that he 
was then complaining of the lack of any associate of 
adequate ability on his own side of the question. When 
we remember, however, that both James Madison and 
George Mason were members of that committee, we 
can but read Patrick Henry's words with some astonish- 
ment.^ The explanation is probably to be found in the 
fact that Madison was not placed on the committee 
until the 16th, and, being very young and very unob- 
trusive, did not at first make his true weight felt; 
while Mason was not placed on the committee until 
the working day just before Henry's letter was written, 
and very likely had not then met with it, and may not, 
at the moment, have been remembered by Henry as a 
member of it. At any rate, this is the way in which 
our eager Virginian democrat, in that moment of anx- 
ious conflict over the form of the future government of 
his state, poured out his anxieties to his two most con- 
genial political friends in congress. To Richard Henry 
Lee he wrote : " The grand work of forming a con- 
stitution for Virginia is now before the convention, 
where your love of equal liberty and your skill in pub- 
lic counsels might so eminently serve the cause of your 
country. Perhaps I 'm mistaken, but I fear too great a 
bias to aristocracy prevails among the opulent. I own 
myself a democratic on the plan of our admired friend, 
J. Adams, whose pamphlet I read with great pleasure. 
A performance from Philadelphia is just come here, 

ushered in, I 'm told, by a colleague of yours, B > 

and greatly recommended by him. I don't like it. Is 
the author a whig? One or two expressions in the 

1 See the unfavorable comment of Rives, Life and Times of Madu 
son, i. 147, 148. 



INDEPENDENCE, 181 

book make me ask. I wish to divide you, and have 
you here to animate, by your manly eloquence, the 
sometimes drooping spirits of our country, and in con- 
gress to be the ornament of your native country, and 
the vigilant, determined foe of tyranny. To give you 
colleagues of kindred sentiments, is my wish. I doubt 
you have them not at present. A confideutial account 
of the matter to Colonel Tom,^ desiring him to use it 
according to his discretion, might greatly serve the 
public and vindicate Virginia from suspicions. Vigor, 
animation, and all the powers of mind and body must 
now be summoned and collected together into one 
grand effort. Moderation, falsely so called, hath nearly 
brought on us final ruin. And to see those, who have so 
fatally advised us, still guiding, or at least sharing, our 
public counsels, alarms me." ^ 

On the same day, he wrote as follows to John 
Adams : — 

" Williamsburg, May 20, 1776. 

" My dear Sir, — Your favor, with the pamphlet, 
came safe to hand. I am exceedingly obliged to you 
for it; and I am not without hopes it may produce 
good here, where there is among most of our opulent 
families a strong bias to aristocracy. I tell my friends 
you are the author. Upon that supposition, I have two 
reasons for liking the book. The sentiments are pre- 
cisely the same I have long since taken up, and they 
come recommended by you. Go on, my dear friend, 
to assail the strongholds of tyranny ; and in whatever 
form oppression may be found, may those talents and 

1 Thomas Nelson. 

2 S. Lit. Messenger for 1842. Reprinted in Campbell, Hist. Va.y 
647. 



182 PATRICK HENRY. 

that firmness, which have achieved so much for America, 
be pointed against it. . . . 

" Our convention is now employed in the great work 
of forming a constitution. My most esteemed repub- 
lican form has many and powerful enemies. A silly 
thing, published in Philadelphia, by a native of Vir- 
ginia, has just made its appearance here, strongly 
recommended, 'tis said, by one of our delegates now 
with you, — Braxton. His reasonings upon and dis- 
tinction between private and public virtue, are weak, 
shallow, evasive, and the whole performance an affront 
and disgrace to this country ; and, by one expression, I 
suspect his whiggism. 

" Our session will be very long, during which I can- 
not count upon one coadjutor of talents equal to the 
task. Would to God you and your Sam Adams were 
here ! It shall be my incessant study so to form our 
portrait of government that a kindred with New Eng- 
land may be discerned in it ; and if all your excellences 
cannot be preserved, yet I hope to retain so much of 
the likeness, that posterity shall pronounce us descended 
from the same stock. I shall think perfection is ob- 
tained, if we have your approbation. 

" I am forced to conclude ; but first, let me beg to be 
presented to my ever-esteemed S. Adams. Adieu, my 
dear sir ; may God preserve you, and give you every 
good thing. 

" P. Henry, Jr. 

" P. S. Will you and S. A. now and then write ? " ^ 

To this hearty and even brotherly letter John Adams 
wrote from Philadelphia, on the 3d of June, a fitting 
1 Works of John Adams, iv. 201, 202. 



INDEPENDENCE. 183 

reply, in the course of which he said, with respect to 
Henry's labors in making a constitution for Virginia: 
" The subject is of infinite moment, and perhaps more 
than adequate to the abilities of any man in America. 
I know of none so competent to the task as the author 
of the first Virginia resolutions against the Stamp Act, 
who will have the glory with posterity of beginning 
and concluding this great revolution. Happy Virginia, 
whose constitution is to be framed by so masterly a 
builder ! " Then, with respect to the aristocratic fea- 
tures in the constitution, as proposed by " A Native of 
the Colony," John Adams exclaims : " The dons, the 
bashaws, the grandees, the patricians, the sachems, the 
nabobs, call them by what name you please, sigh, and 
groan, and fret, and sometimes stamp, and foam, and 
curse, but all in vain. The decree is gone forth, and it 
cannot be recalled, that a more equal liberty than has 
prevailed in other parts of the earth, must be estab- 
lished in America. That exuberance of pride which 
has produced an insolent domination in a few, a very 
few, opulent, monopolizing families, will be brought 
down nearer to the confines of reason and moderation 
than they have been used to. ... I shall ever be happy 
in receiving your advice by letter, until I can be more 
completely so in seeing you here in person, which I 
hope will be soon." ^ 

On the 12th of June, the convention adopted without 
a dissenting voice its celebrated " declaration of rights," 
a compact, luminous, and powerful statement, in sixteen 
articles, of those great fundamental rights that were 
henceforth to be " the basis and foundation of govern- 
ment " in Virginia, and were to stamp their character 
1 Works of John Adams^ ix. 386-388. 



184 PATRICK HENRY. 

upon that constitution on which the committee were 
even then engaged. Perhaps no political document of 
that time is more worthy of study in connection with 
the genesis, not only of our state constitutions, but of 
that of the nation likewise. It is now known that, in 
the original draft, the first fourteen articles were writ- 
ten by George Mason, and the fifteenth and sixteenth 
by Patrick Henry. The fifteenth article was in these 
words : " That no free government, or the blessings of 
liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm 
adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, 
and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental 
principles." The sixteenth article is an assertion of 
the doctrine of religious liberty, — the first time that it 
was ever asserted by authority in Virginia. The orig- 
inal draft, in which Henry followed very closely the 
language used on that subject by the Independents in 
the Assembly of Westminster, stood as follows : " That 
religion, or the duty we owe our Creator, and the man- 
ner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason 
and conviction, and not by force or violence ; and, 
therefore, that all men should enjoy the fullest tolera- 
tion in the exercise of religion, according to the dictates 
of conscience, unpunished and unrestrained by the mag- 
istrate, unless, under color of religion, any man disturb 
the peace, the happiness, or the safety of society ; and 
that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian 
forbearance, love, and charity towards each other." ^ 

The historic significance of this stately assertion of 
religious liberty in Virginia can be felt only by those 
who remember that, at that time, the church of Eng- 
land was the established church of Virginia, and that 
1 Edmund Randolph, MS. Hist. Va. 



INDEPENDENCE. 185 

the laws of Virginia then prohibited the exercise within 
the colony of every form of religious dissent, and even 
authorized its suppression by force. At the very mo- 
ment, probably, when the committee were engaged in 
considering the tremendous innovation contained in 
Patrick Henry's article, " sundry persons of the Bap- 
tist church in the county of Prince William " were 
putting their names to a petition earnestly imploring 
the convention, " That they be allowed to worship God 
in their own way, without interruption; that they be 
permitted to maintain their own ministers and none 
others ; that they may be married, buried, and the like, 
without paying the clergy of other denominations ; " 
and that, by the concession to them of such religious 
freedom, they be enabled to " unite with their brethren, 
and to the utmost of their ability promote the common 
cause" of political freedom.^ Of course the adoption 
of Patrick Henry's article virtually carried with it 
every privilege which these people asked for. He was 
himself a devout communicant of the established church 
of Virginia ; and thus, the first great legislative act for 
the reform of the civil constitution of that church, and 
for its deliverance from the traditional duty and curse 
of persecution, was an act which came from within 
the church itself. 

On Monday, the 24th of June, the committee, through 
Archibald Gary, submitted to the convention their plan 
of a constitution for the new state of Virginia ; and on 
Saturday, the 29th of June, this plan passed its third 
reading, and was unanimously adopted. A glance at 
the document will show that in the sharp struggle be- 
tween the aristocratic and the democratic forces in the 
1 4 Am. Arch., vi. 1582. 



186 PATRICK HENRY. » 

convention, the latter had signally triumphed. It pro- 
vided for a lower house of assembly, whose members 
were to be elected annually by the people, in the pro- 
portion of two members from each county ; for an upper 
house of assembly to consist of twenty-four members, 
who were to be elected annually by the people, in the 
proportion of one member from each of the sena- 
torial districts into which the several counties should 
be grouped ; for a governor, to be elected annually by 
joint ballot of both houses, and not to "continue in that 
office longer than three years successively," nor then to 
be eligible again for the office until after the lapse of 
four years from the close of his previous term ; for a 
privy council of eight members, for delegates in con- 
gress, and for judges in the several courts, all to be 
elected by joint ballot of the two houses ; for justices 
of the peace to be appointed by the governor and the 
privy council ; and, finally, for an immediate election, 
by the convention itself, of a governor, and a privy 
council, and such other officers as might be necessary 
for the introduction of the new government.^ 

In accordance with the last provision of this constitu- 
tion, the convention at once proceeded to cast their bal- 
lots for governor, with the following result : — 

For Patrick Henry . . . . .60 

For Thomas Nelson 45 

For John Page ...... 1 

By resolution, Patrick Henry was then formally de- 
clared to be the governor of the commonwealth of Vir- 
ginia, to continue in office until the close of that session 
of the assembly which should be held after the end of 
the following March. 

1 Am. Arch., vi. 1598-1601, note. 



INDEPENDENCE. 187 

On the same day on which this action was taken, he 
wrote, in reply to the official notice of his election, the 
following letter of acceptance, — a graceful, manly, and 
touching composition : — 

*' TO THE HONORABLE THE PRESIDENT AND HOUSE 
OF CONVENTION. 

"Gentlemen, — The vote of this day, appointing me 
governor of this commonwealth, has been notified to 
me, in the most polite and obliging manner, by George 
Mason, Henry Lee, Dudley Digges, John Blair, and 
Bartholomew Dandridge, Esquires. 

" A sense of the high and unmerited honor conferred 
upon me by the convention fills my heart with grati- 
tude, which I trust my whole life will manifest. I take 
this earliest opportunity to express my thanks, which I 
wish to convey to you, gentlemen, in the strongest 
terms of acknowledgment. 

" When I reflect that the tyranny of the British king 
and parliament hath kindled a formidable war, now rag- 
ing throughout the wide-extended continent, and in the 
operations of which this commonwealth must bear so 
great a part, and that from the events of this war the 
lasting happiness or misery of a great proportion of the 
human species will finally result ; that, in order to pre- 
serve this commonwealth from anarchy, and its attend- 
ant ruin, and to give vigor to our councils and effect to 
all our measures, government hath been necessarily as- 
sumed and new modelled ; that it is exposed to number- 
less hazards and perils in its infantine state ; that it can 
never attain to maturity or ripen into firmness, unless 
it is guarded by affectionate assiduity, and managed by 
great abilities, — I lament my want of talents ; I feel 



188 PATRICK HENRY. 

my mind filled with anxiety and uneasiness to find my- 
self so unequal to the duties of that important station to 
which I am called by favor of my fellow-citizens at this 
truly critical conjuncture. The errors of my conduct 
shall be atoned for, so far as I am able, by unwearied 
endeavors to secure the freedom and happiness of our 
common country. 

" I shall enter upon the duties of my office whenever 
you, gentlemen, shall be pleased to direct, relying upon 
the known wisdom and virtue of your honorable house 
to supply my defects, and to give permanency and suc- 
cess to that system of government which you have 
formed, and which is so wisely calculated to secure equal 
liberty, and advance human happiness. 

" I have the honor to be, gentlemen, your most obe- 
dient and very humble servant, 

" P. Henry, Jr. 

"Williamsburg, June 29, 1776." i 

1 4 Am. Arch., vi. 1129, 1130. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FIRST GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. 

On Friday, the 5th of July, 1776, Patrick Henry 
took the oath of office,^ and entered upon his duties 
as governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. The 
salary attached to the position was fixed at one thou- 
sand pounds sterling for the year ; and the governor 
was invited to take up his residence in the palace 
at Williamsburg. No one had resided in the palace 
since Lord Dunmore had fled from it ; and the people 
of Virginia could hardly fail to note the poetic retribu- 
tion whereby the very man whom, fourteen months be- 
fore, Lord Dunmore had contemptuously denounced as 
" a certain Patrick Henry of Hanover County," should 
now become Lord Dunmore's immediate successor in 
that mansion of state, and should be able, if he chose, 
to write proclamations against Lord Dunmore upon the 
same desk on which Lord Dunmore had so recently 
written the proclamation against himself. 

Among the first to bring their congratulations to the 
new governor, were his devoted friends, the first and 
second regiments of Virginia, who told him that they 
viewed " with the sincerest sentiments of respect and 
joy " his accession to the highest office in the state, and 
who gave to him likewise this affectionate assurance : 
" our hearts are willing, and arms ready, to maintain 
1 Burk, Hist. Va., iv. 154. 



190 PATRICK HENRY. 

your authority as chief magistrate." -^ On the 29th of 
July, the erratic General Charles Lee, who was then in 
Charleston, sent on his congratulations in a letter amus- 
ing for its tart cordiality and its peppery playfulness : " I 
most sincerely congratulate you on the noble conduct of 
your countrymen ; and I congratulate your country on 
having citizens deserving of the high honor to which you 
are exalted. For the being elected to the first magis- 
tracy of a free people is certainly the pinnacle of human 
glory ; and I am persuaded that they could not have 
made a happier choice. Will you excuse me, — but I 
am myself so extremely democratical, that I think it 
a fault in your constitution that the governor should 
be eligible for three years successively. It appears 
to me that a government of three years may furnish an 
opportunity of acquiring a very dangerous influence. 
But this is not the worst. ... A man who is fond of 
office, and has his eye upon reelection, will be courting 
favor and popularity at the expense of his duty. . . . 
There is a barbarism crept in among us that extremely 
shocks me : I mean those tinsel epithets with which (I 
come in for my share) we are so beplastered, — ' his 
excellency,' and ' his honor,' ' the honorable president of 
the honorable congress,' or ' the honorable convention/ 
This fulsome, nauseating cant may be well enough 
adapted to barbarous monarchies, or to gratify the adul- 
terated pride of the ' magnifici ' in pompous aristocra- 
cies ; but in a great, free, manly, equal commonwealth, 
it is quite abominable. For my own part, I would as 
lief they would put ratsbane in my mouth as the * ex- 
cellency ' with which I am daily crammed. How much 
more true dignity was there in the simplicity of address 
1 4 Am. Arch., vi. 1602, 1603, note. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 191 

amongst the Romans, — ' Marcus Tullius Cicero,' ' De- 
cimo Bruto Imperatori,' or ' Caio Marcello Consuli,' — 
than to ' his excellency Major-General Noodle,' or to 

* the honorable John Doodle.' ... If, therefore, I 
should sometimes address a letter to you without the 

* excellency ' tacked, you must not esteem it a mark of 
personal or official disrespect, but the reverse." ^ 

Of all the words of congratulation which poured in 
upon the new governor, probably none came so straight 
from the heart, and none could have been quite so 
sweet to him, as those which, on the 12th of August, 
were uttered by some of the persecuted dissenters in 
Virginia, who, in many an hour of need, had learned to 
look up to Patrick Henry as their strong and splendid 
champion, in the legislature and in the courts. On the 
date just mentioned, "the ministers and delegates of 
the Baptist churches " of the state, being met in con- 
vention at Louisa, sent to him this address : — 

"May it please your Excellency, — As your 
advancement to the honorable and important station as 
governor of this commonwealth affords us unspeakable 
pleasure, we beg leave to present your excellency with 
our most cordial congratulations. 

" Your public virtues are such that we are under no 
temptation to flatter you. Virginia has done honor to 
her judgment in appointing your excellency to hold the 
reins of government at this truly critical conjuncture, 
as you have always distinguished yourself by your zeal 
and activity for her welfare, in whatever department 
has been assigned you. 

" As a religious community, we have nothing to re- 
1 5 Am. Arch., i. 631. 



192 PATRICK HENRY. 

quest of you. Your constant attachment to the glorious 
cause of liberty and the rights of conscience, leaves us 
no room to doubt of your excellency's favorable regards 
while we worthily demean ourselves. 

" May God Almighty continue you long, very long, 
a public blessing to this your native country, and, after 
a life of usefulness here, crown you with immortal 
felicity in the world to come. 
" Signed by order : Jeremiah Walker, Moderator. 
" John Williams, Clerk.'' 

To these loving and jubilant words, the governor 
replied in an off-hand letter, the deep feeling of which 
is not the less evident because it is restrained, — a let- 
ter which is as choice and noble in diction as it is in 
thought : — 

" TO THE MINISTERS AND DELEGATES OF THE BAPTIST 
CHURCHES, AND THE MEMBERS OF THAT COMMUNION. 

" Gentlemen, — I am exceedingly obliged to you for 
your very kind address, and the favorable sentiments 
you are pleased to entertain respecting my conduct and 
the principles which have directed it. My constant en- 
deavor shall be to guard the rights of all my fellow- 
citizens from every encroachment. 

" I am happy to find a catholic spirit prevailing in 
our country, and that those religious distinctions, which 
formerly produced some heats, are now forgotten. 
Happy must every friend to virtue and America feel 
himself, to perceive that the only contest among us, at 
this most critical and important period, is, who shall be 
foremost to preserve our religious and civil liberties. 

" My most earnest wish is, that Christian charity, 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 193 

forbearance, atid love, may uuite all our different per- 
suasions, as brethren who must perish or triumph to- 
gether ; and I trust that the time is not far distant 
when we shall greet each other as the peaceable pos- 
sessors of that just and equal system of liberty adopted 
by the last convention, and in support of which may 
God crown our arms with success. 

"I am, gentlemen, your most obedient and very 
humble servant, P. Henry, Jun.^ 

" August 13, 1776." 

On the day on which Governor Henry was sworn 
into office, the convention finally adjourned, having 
made provision for the meeting of the general as- 
sembly on the first Monday of the following October. 
In the mean time, therefore, all the interests of the 
state were to be in the immediate keeping of the gov- 
ernor and privy council ; and, for a part of that time, 
as it turned out, the governor himself was disabled for 
service. For we now encounter, in the history of Pat- 
rick Henry, the first mention of that infirm health from 
which he seems to have suffered, in some degree, during 
the remaining twenty-three years of his life. Before 
taking full possession of the governor's palace, which 
had to be made ready for his use, he had likewise to 
prepare for this great change in his life by returning to 
his home in the county of Hanover. There he lay ill 
for some time ; ^ and upon his recovery he removed 
with his family to Williamsburg, which continued to be 
their home for the next three years. 

The people of Virginia had been accustomed, for 

1 5 Am. Arch., i. 905, 906. 

2 George Rogers Clark's Campaign in the Illinois^ 11. 

13 



194 PATRICK HENRY. 

more than a century, to look upon their governors as 
personages of very great dignity. Several of those 
governors had been connected with the English peerage ; 
all had served in Virginia in a vice-regal capacity ; 
many had lived there in a sort of vice-regal pomp and 
magnificence. It is not to be supposed that Governor 
Henry would be able or willing to assume so much 
state and grandeur as his predecessors had done ; and 
yet he felt, and the people of Virginia felt, that in the 
transition from royal to republican forms the dignity of 
that office should not be allowed to decline in any im- 
portant particular. Moreover, as a contemporary ob- 
server mentions, Patrick Henry had been "accused 
by the big-wigs of former times as being a coarse and 
common man, and utterly destitute of dignity ; and 
perhaps he wished to show them that they were mis- 
taken." ^ At any rate, by the testimony of all, he 
seems to have displayed his usual judgment and skill 
in adapting himself to the requirements of his position ; 
and, while never losing his gentleness and his simplicity 
of manner, to have borne himself as the impersonation, 
for the time being, of the executive authority of a great 
and proud commonwealth. He ceased to appear fre- 
quently upon the streets ; and whenever he did appear, 
he was carefully arrayed in a dressed wig, in black 
small-clothes, and in a scarlet cloak ; and his presence 
and demeanor were such as to sustain, in the popular 
mind, the traditional respect for his high office. 

He had so far recovered from the illness which had 

prostrated him during the summer, as to be at his post 

of duty when the general assembly of the state began 

its first session, on Monday, the 7th of October, 1776. 

1 Spencer Roane, MS. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 195 

His health, however, was still extremely frail ; for oq 
the 30th of that month he was obliged to notify the 
house " that the low state of his health rendered him 
unable to attend to the duties of his office, and that his 
physicians had recommended to him to retire therefrom 
into the country, till he should recover his strength." ^ 
His absence seems not to have been very long. By 
the 16th of November, as one may infer from entries 
in the journal of the house,^ he was able to resume his 
official duties. 

The summer and autumn of that year proved to be a 
dismal period for the American cause. Before our eyes, 
as we now look back over those days, there marches 
this grim procession of dates : August 27, the battle of 
Long Island ; August 29, Washington's retreat across 
East River ; September 15, the panic among the Ameri- 
can troops at Kip's Bay, and the American retreat from 
New York ; September 16, the battle of Harlem Plains ; 
September 20, the burning of New York ; October 28, 
the battle of White Plains ; November 16, the surrender 
of Fort Washington ; November 20, the abandonment 
of Fort Lee, followed by Washington's retreat across 
the Jerseys. In the midst of these disasters, Washing- 
ton found time to write, from the Heights of Harlem, 
on the 5th of October, to his old friend, Patrick Henry, 
congratulating him on his election as governor of Vir- 
ginia and on his recovery from sickness ; explaining 
the military situation at headquarters ; advising him 
about military appointments in Virginia ; and espe- 
cially giving to him important suggestions concerning 
the immediate military defence of Virginia " against the 
enemy's ships and tenders, which," as Washington says 
1 Jour. Va. House Del., 32. 2 ibid. 57-59. 



196 PATRICK HENRY. 

to the governor, *' may go up your rivers in quest of pro- 
visions, or for the purpose of destroying your towns." ^ 
Indeed, Virginia was just then exposed to hostile at- 
tacks on all sides ; "^ and it was so plain that any attack 
by water would have found an easy approach to Wil- 
liamsburg, that, in the course of the next few months, 
the public records and the public stores were removed 
to Richmond, as being, on every account, a " more se- 
cure site." ^ Apparently, however, the prompt recog- 
nition of this danger by Governor Henry, early in the 
autumn of 1776, and his vigorous military preparations 
against it, were interpreted by some of his political en- 
emies as a sign both of personal cowardice and of offi- 
cial self-glorification, — as is indicated by a letter writ- 
ten by the aged Landon Carter to General Washington, 
on the 31st of October, and filled with all manner of 
caustic garrulity and insinuation, — a letter from which 
it may be profitable for us to quote a few sentences, as 
qualifying somewhat that stream of honeyed testimony 
respecting Patrick Henry which commonly flows down 
upon us so copiously from all that period. " If I don't 
err in conjecture," says Carter, " I can't help thinking 
that the head of our commonwealth has as great a pal- 
ace of fear and apprehension as can possess the heart of 
any being ; and if we compare rumor with actual move- 
ments, I believe it will prove itself to every sensible 
man. As soon as the congress sent for our first, third, 
fourth, fifth, and sixth regiments to assist you in contest 
against the enemy where they really were . . . there got 

1 Writings of Washington^ iv. 138. 

2 See letters from the president of Va. Privy Council and from 
General Lewis, in 5 Am. Arch.^ L 736. 

8 Burk, Hist. Va., iv. 229. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 197 

a report among the soldiery that Dignity had declared it 
would not reside in Williamsburg without two thousand 
men under arms to guard him. This had like to have 
occasioned a mutiny. A desertion of many from the 
several companies did follow ; boisterous fellows resist- 
ing, and swearing they would not leave their county. 
. . . What a finesse of popularity was this ? ... As soon 
as the regiments were gone, this great man found an in- 
terest with the council of state, perhaps timorous as him- 
self, to issue orders for the militia of twenty-six coun- 
ties, and five companies of a minute battalion, to march 
to Williamsburg, to protect him only against his own 
fears ; and to make this the more popular, it was en- 
deavored that the house of delegates should give it a 
countenance, but, as good luck would have it, it was 
with difficulty refused.^ . . . Immediately then, . . . 
a bill is brought in to remove the seat of government, — 
some say, up to Hanover, to be called Henry-Town." ^ 

This gossip of a disappointed Virginian aristocrat, in 
vituperation of the public character of Governor Hen- 
ry, naturally leads us forward in our story to that more 
stupendous eruption of gossip which relates, in the first 
instance, to the latter part of December, 1776, and 
which alleges that a conspiracy was then formed among 
certain members of the general assembly to make Pat- 
rick Henry the dictator of Virginia. The first intima- 
tion ever given to the public concerning it, was given 
by Jefferson several years afterward, in his " Notes on 
Virginia," a fascinating brochure which was written by 
him in 1781 and 1782, was first printed privately in 
Paris in 1784, and was first published in England in 

1 Compare Jour. Va. House Del., 8. 

2 5 Am. Arch., ii. 1305-1306. 



198 PATRICK HENRY. 

1787, in America in 1788.^ The essential portions of 
his statement are as follows: "In December, 1776, our 
circumstances being much distressed, it was proposed in 
the house of delegates to create a dictator, invested with 
every power legislative, executive, and judiciary, civil 
and military, of life and death, over our persons and 

over our properties One who entered into this 

contest from a pure love of liberty, and a sense of in- 
jured rights, who determined to make every sacrifice 
and to meet every danger, for the reestablishment of 
those rights on a firm basis, . . . must stand con- 
founded and dismayed when he is told that a consider- 
able portion of" the house "had meditated the sur- 
render of them into a single hand, and in lieu of a 
limited monarchy, to deliver him over to a despotic one. 
. . . The very thought alone was treason against the 
people ; was treason against man in general ; as rivet- 
ing forever the chains which bow down their necks, 
by giving to their oppressors a proof, which they would 
have trumpeted through the universe, of the imbecility 
of republican government, in times of pressing danger, 
to shield them from harm. . . . Those who meant well, 
of the advocates of this measure (and most of them 
meant well, for I know them personally, had been their 
fellow laborer in the common cause, and had often 
proved the purity of their principles), had been seduced 
in their judgment by the example of an ancient repub- 
lic, whose constitution and circumstances were funda- 
mentally different." ^ 

With that artistic tact and that excellent prudence 

1 Randall, Life of Jefferson, i. 363, 413 ; and Hist. Mag., i. 52. 

2 Writings of Jefferson, viii. 368-371 ; also Phila. ed. of Notes, 
1825, 172-176. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 199 

which seem never to have failed Jefferson in auy of his 
enterprises for the disparagement of his associates, he 
here avoids, as will be observed, all mention of the 
name of the person for whose fatal promotion this classic 
conspiracy was formed, — leaving that interesting item 
to come out, as it did many years afterward, when the 
most of those who could have borne testimony upon the 
subject were in their graves, and when the damning 
stigma could be comfortably fastened to the name of 
Patrick Henry without the direct intervention of Jef- 
ferson's own hands. Accordingly, in 1816, a French 
gentleman, Girardin, a near neighbor of Jefferson's, who 
enjoyed " the incalculable benefit of a free access to 
Mr. Jefferson's library," ^ and who wrote the continua- 
tion of Burk's History of Virginia under Jefferson's 
very eye,^ gave in that work a highly wrought account 
of the alleged conspiracy of December, 1776, as involv- 
ing "nothing less than the substitution of a despotic 
in lieu of a limited monarch ; " and then proceeded to 
bring the accusation down from those lurid generalities 
of condemnation in which Jefferson himself had cau- 
tiously left it, by adding this sentence : " That Mr. 
Henry was the person in view for the dictatorship, is 
well ascertained." ^ 

Finally, in 1817, William Wirt, whose Life of Henry 
was likewise composed under nearly the same inestima- 
ble advantages as regards instruction and oversight fur- 
nished by Jefferson, repeated the fearful tale, and added 
some particulars ; but, in doing so, Wirt could not 

i Burk, Hist. Va., iv. Pref. Rem. vi. 

2 See Jefferson's explicit endorsement of Girardin's book in his own 
Writings, i. 50. 
8 Burk^ Hist. Va., 189, 190. 



200 PATRICK HENRY. 

fail — good lawyer and just man, as he was — to direct 
attention to the absence of all evidence of any collusion 
on the part of Patrick Henry with the projected folly 
and crime. " Even the heroism of the Virginia legis- 
lature," says Wirt, " gave way ; and, in a season of 
despair, the mad project of a dictator was seriously 
meditated. That Mr. Henry was thought of for this 
office, has been alleged, and is highly probable; but 
that the project was suggested by him, or even received 
his countenance, I have met with no one who will ven- 
ture to affirm. There is a tradition that Colonel Archi- 
bald Cary, the speaker of the senate, was principally 
instrumental in crushing this project ; that meeting 
Colonel Syme, the step-brother of Colonel Henry, in 
the lobby of the house, he accosted him very fiercely in 
terms like these : ' I am told that your brother wishes 
to be dictator. Tell him from me, that the day of his 
appointment shall be the day of his death ; — for he 
shall feel my dagger in his heart before the sunset of 
that day.' And the tradition adds that Colonel Syme, 
in great agitation, declared that ' if such a project ex- 
isted, his brother had no hand in it ; for that nothing 
could be more foreign to him, than to countenance any 
office which could endanger, in the most distant manner, 
the liberties of his country.' The intrepidity and vio- 
lence of Colonel Cary's character renders the tradition 
probable ; but it furnishes no proof of Mr. Henry's 
implication in the scheme." ^ 

A disinterested study of this subject, in the light of 
all the evidence now attainable, will be likely to con- 
vince any one that this enormous scandal must have 
been very largely a result of the extreme looseness at 
1 Wirt, Life of Henry, 204-206. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 201 

that time prevailmg in the use of the word dictator, 
and of its being employed, on the one side, in an inno- 
cent sense, and, on the other side, in a guilty one. In 
strict propriety, of course, the word designates a mag- 
istrate created in an emergency of public peril, and 
clothed for a time with unlimited power. It is an ex- 
treme remedy, and in itself a remedy extremely dan- 
gerous, and can never be innocently resorted to except 
when the necessity for it is indubitable ; and it may 
well be questioned whether, among people and institu- 
tions like our own, a necessity can ever arise which 
would justify the temporary grant of unlimited power 
to any man. If this be true, it follows that no man 
among us can, without dire political guilt, ever consent 
to bestow such power ; and that no man can, without 
the same guilt, ever consent to receive it. 

Yet it is plain that even among us, between the 
years 1776 and 1783, emergencies of terrific public 
peril did arise, sufficient to justify, nay, even to com- 
pel, the bestowment either upon the governor of some 
state, or upon the general of the armies, not of un- 
limited power, certainly, but of extraordinary power, — 
such extraordinary power, for example, as was actually 
conferred by the continental congress, more than once, 
on Washington ; as was conferred by the legislature of 
South Carolina on Governor John Rutledge ; as was 
repeatedly conferred by the legislature of Virginia upon 
Governor Patrick Henry ; and afterward, in still higher 
degree, by the same legislature, on Governor Thomas 
Jefferson himself. Nevertheless, so loose was the 
meaning then attached to the word dictator, that it was 
not uncommon for men to speak of these very cases as 
examples of the bestowment of a dictatorship, and of the 



202 PATRICK HENRY. 

exercise of dictatorial power ; although, in every one 
of the cases mentioned, there was lacking the essential 
feature of a true dictatorship, namely, the grant of un- 
limited power to one man. It is perfectly obvious, 
likewise, that when, in those days, men spoke thus of a 
dictatorship, and of dictatorial power, they attached no 
suggestion of political guilt either to the persons who 
bestowed such power, or to the persons who severally 
accepted it, — the tacit understanding being that, in 
every instance, the public danger required and justified 
some grant of extraordinary power ; that no more 
power was granted than was necessary ; and that the 
man to whom, in any case, the grant was made, was a 
man to whom, there was good reason to believe, the 
grant could be made with safety. Obviously, it was 
upon this tacit understanding of its meaning that the 
word was used, for instance, by Edmund Randolph, in 
1788, in the Virginia constitutional convention, when, 
alluding to the extraordinary power bestowed by con- 
gress on Washington, he said : " We had an American 
dictator in 1781." Surely, Randolph did not mean to 
impute political crime, either to the congress which 
made Washington a dictator, or to Washington him- 
self who consented to be made one. It was upon the 
same tacit understanding, also, that Patrick Henry, in 
reply to Randolph, took up the word, and extolled the 
grant of dictatorial power to Washington on the occa- 
sion referred to : " In making a dictator," said Henry, 
*' we followed the example of the most glorious, mag- 
nanimous, and skilful nations. In great dangers, this 
power has been given. Rome has furnished us with 
an illustrious example. America found a person for 
that trust : she looked to Virginia for him. We gave 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 203 

a dictatorial power to hands that used it gloriously, and 
which were rendered more glorious by surrendering it 
up." 1 

Thus it is apparent that the word dictator was fre- 
quently used in those times in a sense perfectly inno- 
cent. As all men know, however, the word is one 
capable of suggesting the possibilities of dreadful polit- 
ical crime ; and it is not hard to see how, when employed 
by one person to describe the bestowment and accept- 
ance of extraordinary power, — implying a perfectly 
innocent proposition, it could be easily taken by another 
person as describing the bestowment and acceptance of 
unlimited power, — implying a proposition which among 
us, probably, would always be a criminal one. 

With the help which this discussion may give us, let 
us now return to the general assembly of Virginia, at 
Williamsburg, approaching the close of its first session, 
in the latter part of December, 1776. It was on the 
point of adjourning, not to meet again until the latter 
part of March, 1777. At that moment, by the arrival 
of most alarming news from the seat of war, it was 
forced to make special provision for the public safety 
during the interval which must elapse before its next 
session. Its journal indicates that, prior to the 20th of 
December, it had been proceeding with its business in 
a quiet way, under no apparent consciousness of im- 
minent peril. On that day, however, there are traces 
of a panic ; for, on that day, " The Virginia Gazette " 
announced to them the appalling news of " the crossing 
of the Delaware by the British forces, from twelve to 
fifteen thousand strong ; the position of General Wash- 
ington, at Bristol, on the south side of the river, with 
1 Elliot's Debates, iii. 160. 



204 PATRICK HENRY. 

only six thousand men ; " and the virtual flight of con- 
gress from Philadelphia.-' At this rate, how long would 
it be before the continental army would be dispersed 
or captured, and the troops of the enemy sweeping 
in vengeance across the borders of Virginia ? Accord- 
ingly, the house of delegates immediately resolved it- 
self into "a committee to take into their considera- 
tion the state of America;" but not being able to reach 
any decision that day, it voted to resume the subject on 
the day following, and for that purpose to meet an hour 
earlier than usual. So, on Saturday, the 21st of Decem- 
ber, the house passed a series of resolutions intended 
to provide for the crisis into which the country was 
plunged, and, among the other resolutions, this : — 

" And whereas the present imminent danger of 
America, and the ruin and misery which threatens the 
good people of this commonwealth, and their posterity, 
calls for the utmost exertion of our strength, and it is 
become necessary for the preservation of the state that 
the usual forms of government be suspended during a 
limited time, for the more speedy execution of the most 
vigorous and effectual measures to repel the invasion of 
the enemy ; 

" Resolved, therefore, That the governor be, and he is 
hereby fully authorized and empowered, by and with 
the advice and consent of the privy council, from hence- 
forward, until ten days next after the first meeting of 
the general assembly, to carry into execution such re- 
quisitions as may be made to this commonwealth by the 
American congress for the purpose of encountering or 
repelling the enemy ; to order the three battalions on the 
pay of this commonwealth to march, if necessary, to join 
1 Cited by William Wirt Henry, Hist. Mag. for 1873, 349. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA, 205 

the continental army, or to the assistance of any of our 
sister states ; to call forth any and such greater military 
force as they shall judge requisite, either by embodying 
and arraying companies or regiments of volunteers, or 
by raising additional battalions, appointing and com- 
missioning the proper officers, and to direct their opera- 
tions within this commonwealth, under the command of 
the continental generals or other officers according to 
their respective ranks, or order them to march to join 
and act in concert with the continental army, or the 
troops of any of the American states ; and to provide 
for their pay, supply of provisions, arms, and other 
necessaries, at the charge of this commonwealth, by 
drawing on the treasurer for the money which may be 
necessary from time to time ; and the said treasurer is 
authorized to pay such warrants out of any public 
money which may be in his hands, and the general as- 
sembly will, at their next session, make ample provision 
for any deficiency which may happen. But that this 
departure from the constitution of government, being 
in this instance founded only on the most evident and 
urgent necessity, ought not hereafter to be drawn into 
precedent." 

These resolutions, having been pressed rapidly through 
the forms of the house, were at once carried up to the 
senate for its concurrence. The answer of the senate 
was promptly returned, agreeing to all the resolutions 
of the lower house, but proposing an important amend- 
ment in the phraseology of the particular resolution 
which we have just quoted. Instead of this clause — 
" the usual forms of government should be suspended," 
it suggested the far more accurate and far more prudent 
expression which here follows, — " additional powers 



206 PATRICK HENRY. 

be given to the governor and council." This amend- 
ment was assented to by the house ; and almost im- 
mediately thereafter it adjourned until the last Thurs- 
day in March, 1777, "then to meet in the city of 
Williamsburg, or at such other place as the governor 
and council, for good reasons, may appoint." ^ 

Such, undoubtedly, was the occasion on which, if at 
any time during that session, the project for a dictator- 
ship in Virginia was under consideration by the house 
of delegates. The only evidence for the reality of such 
a project is derived from the testimony of Jefferson ; 
and Jefferson, though a member of the house, was not 
then in attendance, having procured, on the 29th of 
the previous month, permission to be absent during the 
remainder of the session.'* Is it not probable that the 
whole terrible plot, as it afterward lay in the mind of 
Jefferson, may have originated in reports which reached 
him elsewhere, to the effect that, in the excitement of 
the house over the public danger and over the need of 
energetic measures against that danger, some members 
had demanded that the governor should be invested 
with what they perhaps called dictatorial power, mean- 
ing thereby no more than extraordinary power ; and 
that all the criminal accretions to that meaning, which 
Jefferson attributed to the project, were simply the 
work of his own imagination, always sensitive and quick 
to take alarm on behalf of human liberty, and, on such 
a subject as this, easily set on fire by examples of awful 
political crime which would occur to him from Roman 
history ? This suggestion, moreover, is not out of har- 
mony with one which has been made by a thorough and 

1 Jour. Va. House of Del., 106-108. 

2 Ibid. 75; and Randall, Life of Jefferson, i. 205. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 207 

most candid student of the subject, who says : " I am 
very much inclined to think that some sneering remark 
of Colonel Gary, on that occasion, has given rise to the 
whole story about a proposed dictator at that time." ^ 

At any rate, this must not be forgotten : if the pro- 
ject of a dictatorship, in the execrable sense affirmed 
by Jefferson, was, during that session, advocated by any 
man or by any cabal in the assembly, history must ab- 
solve Patrick Henry of all knowledge of it, and of all 
responsibility for it. Not only has no tittle of evidence 
been produced, involving his connivance at such a 
scheme, but the assembly itself, a few months later, 
unwittingly furnished to posterity the most conclusive 
proof that no man in that body could have believed him 
to be smirched with even the suojorestion of so horrid a 
crime. Had Patrick Henry been suspected, during the 
autumn and early winter of 1776, of any participation 
in the foul plot to create a despotism in Virginia, is it to 
be conceived that, at its very next session, in the spring 
of 1777, that assembly, composed of nearly the same 
members as before, would have reelected to the gov- 
ernorship so profligate and dangerous a man, and that 
too without any visible opposition in either house? Yet 
that is precisely what the Virginia assembly did in May, 
1777. Moreover, one year later, this same assembly 
reelected this same profligate and dangerous politician 
for his third and last permissible year in the governor- 
ship, and it did so with the same unbroken unanimity. 
Moreover, during all that time, Thomas Jefferson was a 
member, and a most conspicuous and influential member, 
of the Virginia assembly. If, indeed, he then believed 
that his old friend, Patrick Henry, had stood ready 
1 William Wirt Henry, Hist. Mag. for 1873, 350. 



208 PATRICK HENRY. 

in 1776, to commit "treason against the people" of 
America, and " treason against mankind in general," 
why did he permit the traitor to be twice reelected to 
the chief magistracy, without the record of even one 
brave effort against him on either occasion ? 

On the 26th of December, 1776, in accordance with 
the special authority thus conferred upon him by the 
general assembly. Governor Henry issued a vigorous 
proclamation, declaring that the " critical situation of 
American affairs " called for " the utmost exertion of 
every sister state to put a speedy end to the cruel 
ravages of a haughty and inveterate enemy, and se- 
cure our invaluable rights," and " earnestly exhorting 
and requiring" all the good people of Virginia to as- 
sist in the formation of volunteer companies for such 
service as might be required.^ The date of that proc- 
lamation was also the date of Washington's famous 
matutinal surprise of the Hessians at Trenton, — a bit 
of much-needed good luck, which was followed by his 
fortunate engagement with the enemy near Princeton, 
on the 3d of January, 1777. On these and a very few 
other extremely small crumbs of comfort, the strug- 
gling revolutionists had to nourish their burdened hearts 
for many a month thereafter ; Washington himself, 
during all that time, with his little army of tattered 
and barefoot warriors, majestically predominating over 
the scene from the heights of Morristown ; while the 
good-humored British commander. Sir William Howe, 
considerately abstained from any serious military dis- 
turbance until the middle of the following summer. 
Thus the chief duty of the governor of Virginia, during 
the winter and spring of 1777, as it had been in the pre- 
1 5 Am. Arch., iii. 1425-1426. 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 209 

vious autumn, was that of trying to keep in the field Vir. 
giuia's quota of troops, and of trying to furnish Vir- 
ginia's share of military supplies, — no easy task, it 
should seem, in those times of poverty, confusion, and 
patriotic languor. The official correspondence of the 
governor indicates the unslumbering anxiety, the en- 
ergy, the fertility of device with which, in spite of de- 
fective health, he devoted himself to these hard tasks. -^ 

In his great desire for exact information as to the 
real situation at headquarters. Governor Henry had sent 
to Washington a secret messenger by the name of 
Walker, who was to make his observations at Morris- 
town and to report the results to himself. Washington 
at once perceived the embarrassments to which such 
a plan might lead ; and accordingly, on the 24th of 
February, 1777, he wrote to the governor, gently ex- 
plaining why he could not receive Mr. Walker as a mere 
visiting observer : " To avoid the precedent, therefore, 
and from your character of Mr. Walker, and the high 
opinion I myself entertain of his abilities, honor, and 
prudence, I have taken him into my family as an extra 
aid-de-camp, and shall be happy if, in this character, he 
can answer your expectations. I sincerely thank you, 
Sir, for your kind congratulations on the late success of 
the continental arms (would to God it may continue), 
and for your polite mention of me. Let me earnestly 
entreat that the troops raised in Virginia for this army 
be forwarded on by companies, or otherwise, without 
delay, and as well equipped as possible for the field, or 
we shall be in no condition to open the campaign." ^ 

1 I refer, for example, to his letters of Oct. 11, 1776 ; of Nov. 19, 
1776 ; of Dec. 6, 1776 ; of Jan. 8, 1777 ; of March 20, 1777 ; of 
March 28, 1777 ; of June 20, 1777 ; besides the letters cited in the 
text. 

2 Writings of Washington, iv. 330. 



210 PATRICK HENRY. 

On the 29th of the following month, the governor 
wrote to Washington of the overwhelming difficulty 
attending all his efforts to comply with the request 
mentioned in the letter just cited, — this difficulty aris- 
ing in no small degree, it is obvious, from an invincible 
preference on the part of many of the liberty-loving 
citizens of Virginia that the honor of fighting for lib- 
erty should be exclusively enjoyed by others : " I am 
very sorry to inform you that the recruiting business of 
late goes on so badly, that there remains but little pros- 
pect of filling the six new battalions from this state, 
voted by the assembly. The board of council see this 
with great concern, and, after much reflection on the 
subject, are of opinion that the deficiency in our regu- 
lars can no way be supplied so properly as by enlisting 
volunteers. There is reason to believe a considerable 
number of these may be got to serve six or eight 
months. ... I believe you can receive no assistance by 
drafts from the militia. From the battalions of the 
commonwealth none can be drawn as yet, because they 
are not half full. . . . Virginia will find some apology 
with you for this deficiency in her quota of regulars, 
when the difficulties lately thrown in our way are con- 
sidered. The Georgians and Carolinians have enlisted 
[in Virginia] probably two battalions at least. A regi- 
ment of artillery is in great forwardness. Besides these, 
Colonels Baylor and Grayson are collecting regiments ; 
and three others are forming for this state. Add to all 
this our Indian wars and marine service, almost total 
want of necessaries, the false accounts of deserters, — 
many of whom lurk here, — the terrors of the small- 
pox and the many deaths occasioned by it, and the defi- 
cient enlistments are accounted for in the best manner I 



FIRST GOVERNOR OF STATE OF VIRGINIA. 211 

can. As no time can be spared, I wish to be honored 
with your answer as soon as possible, in order to pro- 
mote the volunteer scheme, if it meets your approbation. 
I should be glad of any improvements on it that may 
occur to you. I believe about four of the six battalions 
may be enlisted, but have seen no regular [return] of 
tlieir state. Their scattered situation, and being many 
of them in broken quotas, is a reason for their slow 
movement. I have issued repeated orders for their 
march long since." ^ 

The general assembly of Virginia, at its session in 
the spring of 1777, was required to elect a governor, to 
serve for one year from the day on which that session 
should end. As no candidate was named in opposition 
to Patrick Henry, the senate proposed to the house of 
delegates that he should be re-appointed without ballot. 
This, accordingly, was done, by resolution of the latter 
body on the 29th of May, and by that of the senate on 
the 1st of June. On the 5th of June, the committee 
appointed to inform the governor of this action laid 
before the house his answer : — 

" Gentlemen, — The signal honor conferred on me 
by the general assembly, in their choice of me to be 
governor of this commonwealth, demands my best ac- 
knowledgments, which I beg the favor of you to con- 
vey to them in the most acceptable manner. 

I shall execute the duties of that high station to which 
I am again called by the favor of my fellow-citizens, 
according to the best of my abilities, and I shall rely 
upon the candor and wisdom of the assembly to excuse 
and supply my defects. The good of the commonwealth 

1 Sparks, Cwr. Rev., i. 361, 362. 



212 PATRICK HENRY. 

shall be the only object of my pursuit, and I shall meas- 
ure my happiness according to the succes-s which shall 
attend my endeavors to establish the public liberty. I 
beg to be presented to the assembly, and that they and 
you will be assured that I am, with every sentiment of 
the highest regard, their and your most obedient and 
very humble servant, 

" P. Henry." ^ 

After a perusal of this nobly written letter, the gentle 
reader will have no difficulty in concluding that, if in- 
deed the author of it was then lying in wait for an op- 
portunity to set up a despotism in Virgiuia, he had 
already become an adept in the hypocrisy which ena- 
bled him, not only to conceal the fact, but to convey an 
impression quite the opposite. 

1 Jour. Va. House Del., 61. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 

Patrick Henry's second term as governor extended 
from the 28th of June, 1777, to the 28th of June, 1778 : 
a twelve-month of vast and even decisive events in the 
struggle for national independence, — its awful disas- 
ters being more than relieved by the successes, both 
diplomatic and military, which were compressed within 
that narrow strip of time. Let us try, by a glance at 
the chief items in the record of that year, to bring 
before our eyes the historic environment amid which 
the governor of Virginia then wrought at his heavy 
tasks: July 6th, 1777, American evacuation of Ticon- 
deroga at the approach of Burgoyne ; August 6th, de- 
feat of Herkimer by the British under St. Leger ; 
August 16th, Stark's victory over the British at Ben- 
nington ; September 11th, defeat of Washington at 
Brandywine ; September 27th, entrance of the Brit- 
ish into Philadelphia; October 4th, defeat of Wash- 
ington at German town; October 16th, surrender of 
Burgoyne and his entire army ; December 11th, Wash- 
ington's retirement into winter - quarters at Valley 
Forge ; February 6th, 1778, American treaty of alli- 
ance with France; May 11th, death of Lord Chatham; 
June 13th, Lord North's peace-commissioners propose 
to congress a cessation of hostilities; June 18th, the 
British evacuate Philadelphia; June 28th, the battle 
of Monmouth. 



214 PATRICK HENRY. 

The story of the personal life of Patrick Henry dur- 
ing those stern and agitating months is lighted up by 
the mention of his marriage, on the 9th of October, 
1777, to Dorothea Dandridge, a granddaughter of the 
old royal governor, Alexander Spotswood, — a lady 
who was much younger than her husband, and whose 
companionship proved to be the solace of all the years 
that remained to him on earth. 

The pressure of official business upon him can hardly 
have been less than during the previous year. The 
general assembly was in session from the 20th of Oc- 
tober, 1777, until the 24th of January, 1778, and from 
the 4th of May, to the 1st of June, 1778, — involving, 
of course, a long strain of attention by the governor to 
the work of the two houses. Moreover, the prominence 
of Virginia among the states, and, at the same time, her 
exemption from the most formidable assaults of the 
enemy, led to great demands being made upon her both 
for men and for supplies. To meet these demands, 
either by satisfying them or by explaining his failure 
to do so, involved a copious and laborious correspond- 
ence on the part of Governor Henry, not only with his 
own official subordinates in the state, but with the 
president of congress, with the board of war, and with 
the general of the army. The official letters which he 
thus wrote are a monument of his ardor and energy as 
a war-governor, his attention to details, his broad prac- 
tical sense, his hopefulness and patience under galling 
disappointments and defeats.'^ 

1 Of the official letters of Governor Henrj', doubtless many have 
perished ; a few have been printed in Sparks, Force, Wirt, and else- 
where; a considerable number, also, are preserved in manuscript in 
the archives of the department of state at Washington. Copies of the 



GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 215 

Perhaps nothing in the life of Governor Henry dur- 
ing his second term of office has so touching an interest 
for us now, as has the course which he took respecting 
the famous intrigue, which was developed into alarming 
proportions during the winter of 1777 and 1778, for 
the displacement of Washington, and for the elevation 
of the shallow and ill-balanced Gates to the supreme 
command of the armies. It is probable that several 
men of prominence in the army, in congress, and in 
the several state-governments, were drawn into this ca- 
bal, although most of them had too much caution to 
commit themselves to it by any documentary evidence 
which could rise up and destroy them in case of its 
failure. The leaders in the plot very naturally felt the 
great importance of securing the secret support of men 
of high influence in Washington's own state ; and by 
many it was then believed that they had actually won 
over no less a man than Richard Henry Lee. Of 
course, if also the sanction of Governor Patrick Henry 
could be secured, a prodigious advantage would be 
gained. Accordingly, from the town of York, in Penn- 
sylvania, whither congress had fled on the advance of 
the enemy towards Philadelphia, the following letter 
was sent to him, — a letter written in a disguised hand, 
without signature, but evidently by a personal friend, 
a man of position, and a master of the art of plausible 

statement : — 

" YoRKTOWN, 12 January, 1778. 

"Dear Sir, — The common danger of our country 

first brought you and me together. I recollect with 

latter are before me as I write. As justifj'ing the statement made in 
the text, I would refer to his letters of Aug. 30, 1777; of Oct. 29, 
1777; of Oct. 30, 1777; of Dec. 6, 1777 ; of Dec. 9, 1777; of Jan. 20, 
1778 ; of Jan. 28, 1778; and of June 18, 1778. 



216 PATRICK HENR7. 

pleasure the influence of your conversation and elo- 
quence upon the opinions of this country in the begin- 
ning of the present controversy. You first taught us to 
shake off our idolatrous attachment to royalty, and to 
oppose its encroachments upon our liberties, with our 
very lives. By these means you saved us from ruin. 
The independence of America is the offspring of that 
liberal spirit of thinking and acting, which followed the 
destruction of the sceptres of kings, and the mighty 
power of Great Britain. 

" But, Sir, we have only passed the Red Sea. A 
dreary wilderness is still before us ; and unless a Moses 
or a Joshua are raised up in our behalf, we must perish 
before we reach the promised land. We have nothing 
to fear from our enemies on the way. General Howe, 
it is true, has taken Philadelphia; but he has only 
changed his prison. His dominions are bounded on all 
sides by his out-sentries. America can only be undone 
by herself. She looks up to her councils and arms for 
protection ; but, alas ! what are they ? Her representa- 
tion in congress dwindled to only twenty-one members ; 
her Adams, her Wilson, her Henry are no more among 
them. Her councils weak, and partial remedies applied 
constantly for universal diseases. Her army, what is 
it? A major-general belonging to it called it a few 
days ago, in my hearing, a mob. Discipline unknown 
or wholly neglected. The quartermaster's and commis- 
sary's departments filled with idleness, ignorance, and 
peculation ; our hospitals crowded with six thousand 
sick, but half provided with necessaries or accommoda- 
tions, and more dying in them in one month than per- 
ished in the field during the whole of the last cam- 
paign. The money depreciating, without any effectual 



GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 217 

measures being taken to raise it ; the country distracted 
with the Don Quixote atteu rts to regulate the price of 
provisions ; an artificial famine created by it, and a real 
one dreaded from it ; the spirit of the people failing 
through a more intimate acquaintaL^-^ with the causes 
of our misfortunes ; many submitting Jaily to General 
Howe ; and more wishing to do it, only to avoid the 
calamities which threaten our country. But is our case 
desperate ? By no means. We have wisdom, virtue, 
and strength enough to save us, if they could be c'lod 
into action. The northern army has shown us what 
Americans are capable of doing with a General at their 
head. The spirit of the southern army is no way in- 
ferior to the spirit of the northern. A Gates, a Lee, or 
a Conway, would in a few weeks render them an irre- 
sistible body of men. The last of the above officers has 
accepted of the new office of inspector-general of our 
army, in order to reform abuses ; but the remedy is only 
a palliative one. In one of his letters to a friend he 
says, ' A great and good God hath decreed America to 
be free, or the [General] and weak counsellors would 
have ruined her long ago.' You may rest assured of 
each of the facts related in this letter. The author of 
it is one of your Philadelphia friends. A hint of his 
name, if found out by the handwriting, must not be 
mentioned to your most intimate friend. Even the 
letter must be thrown into the fire. But some of its 
contents ought to be made public, in order to awaken, 
enlighten, and alarm our country. I rely upon your 
prudence, and am, dear Sir, with my usual attachment 
to you, and to our beloved independence, 

" Yours sincerely." 



218 PATRICK HENRY. 

How was Patrick Henry to deal with such a letter 
as this ? Even though he should reject its reasoning, 
and spurn the temptation with which it assailed him, 
should he raerely burn it, and be silent ? The incident 
furnished a fair test of his loyalty in friendship, his 
faith in principle, his soundness of judgment, his clear 
and cool grasp of the public situation, — in a word, of 
liis manliness anu his statesmanship. This is the way 
in which he stood the test : — 

PATRICK HENRY TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

les " Williamsburg, 20 February, 1778. 

" Dear Sir, — You will, no doubt, be surprised at 
seeing the enclosed letter, in which the encomiums be- 
stowed on me are as undeserved, as the censures aimed 
at you are unjust. I am sorry there should be one 
man who counts himself my friend, who is not yours. 

" Perhaps I give you needless trouble in handing you 
this paper. The writer of it may be too insignificant 
to deserve any notice. If I knew this to be the case, I 
should not have intruded on your time, which is so 
precious. But there may possibly be some scheme or 
party forming to your prejudice. The enclosed leads 
to such a suspicion. Believe me, Sir, I have too high 
a sense of the obligations America has to you, to abet 
or countenance so unworthy a proceeding. The most 
exalted merit has ever been found to attract envy. 
But I please myself with the hope, that the same for- 
titude and greatness of mind, which have hitherto 
braved all the difficulties and dangers inseparable from 
your station, will rise superior to every attempt of the 
envious partisan. I really cannot tell who is the writer 
of this letter, which not a little perplexes me. The 
handwriting is altogether strange to me. 



GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 219 

" To give you the trouble of this gives me pain. It 
would suit ray inclination better to give you some as- 
sistance in the great business of the war. But I will 
not conceal anything from you, by which you may be 
affected ; for I really think your personal welfare and 
the happiness of America are intimately connected. I 
beg you will be assured of that high regard and esteem 
with which I ever am, dear Sir, your a^'ectionate friend 
and very humble servant." 

Fifteen days passed after the despatch of that letter, 
when, having as yet no answer, but wit^ ^b' heart still 
full of anxiety respecting this mysterious and ill-boding 
cabal against his old friend. Governor Henry wrote 



PATRICK HENRY TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

" WILLIA3ISBURG, 5 March, 1778. 

" Dear Sir, — By an express, which Colonel Finnic 
sent to camp, I enclosed to you an anonymous letter 
which I hope got safe to hand. I am anxious to hear 
something that will serve to explain the strange affair, 
which I am now informed is taken up respecting you. 
Mr. Custis has just paid us a visit, and by him I learn 
sundry particulars concerning General Mifflin, that 
much surprised me. It is very hard to trace the 
schemes and windings of the enemies to America. I 
really thought that man its friend ; however, I am too 
far from him to judge of his present temper. 

While you face the armed enemies of our liberty in 
the field, and by the favor of God have been kept un- 
hurt, I trust your country will never harbor in her 
bosom the miscreant, who would ruin her best supporter. 



220 PATRICK HENRY. 

I wish not to flatter ; but when arts, unworthy honest 
men, are used to defame and traduce you, I think it not 
amiss, but a duty, to assure you of that estimation in 
which the public hold you. Not that I think any testi- 
mony I can bear is necessary for your support, or pri- 
vate satisfaction ; for a bare recollection of what is past 
must give you sufficient pleasure in every circumstance 
of life. But I cannot help assuring you, on this oc- 
casion, of the high sense of gratitude which all ranks 
of men in this our native country bear to you. It will 
give me sincere pleasure to manifest my regards, and 
render my liest services to you or yours. I do not like 
to make a parade of these things, and I know you are 
not fond of it ; however, I hope the occasion will plead 
my excuse. Wishing you all possible felicity, I am, my 
dear Sir, your ever affectionate friend and very humble 
servant." 

Before Washington received this second letter, be 
had already begun to write the following reply to the 
first : — 

GEORGE WASHINGTON TO PATRICK HENRY. 

" Valley Forge, 27 March, 1778. 

" Dear Sir, — About eight days ago I was honored 
with your favor of the 20th ultimo. Your friendship, 
Sir, in transmitting to me the anonymous letter you had 
received, lays me under the most grateful obligations, 
and if my acknowledgements can be due for anything 
more, it is for the polite and delicate terms in which 
you have been pleased to communicate the matter. 

" I have ever been happy in supposing that I had a 
place in your esteem, and the proof you have afforded 



GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 221 

on this occasion makes me peculiarly so. The favorable 
light in which you hold me is truly flattering ; but I 
should feel much regret, if I thought the happiness of 
America so intimately connected with my personal wel- 
fare, as you so obligingly seem to consider it. All I can 
say is, that she has ever had, and I trust she ever will 
have, my honest exertions to promote her interest. I 
cannot hope that my services have been the best ; but 
my heart tells me they have been the best that I could 
render. 

" That I may have erred in using the means in my 
power for accomplishing the objects of the arduous, 
exalted station with which I am honored, I cannot 
doubt ; nor do I wish my conduct to be exempted from 
reprehension farther than it may deserve. Error is the 
portion of humanity, and to censure it, whether com- 
mitted by this or that public character, is the prerogative 
of freemen. However, being intimately acquainted with 
the man I conceive to be the author of the letter trans- 
mitted, and having always received from him the strong- 
est professions of attachment and regard, I am con- 
strained to consider him as not possessing, at least, a 
great degree of candor and sincerity, though his views 
in addressing you should have been the result of con- 
viction, and founded in motives of public good. This is 
not the only secret, insidious, attempt, that has been 
made to wound my reputation. There have been others 
equally base, cruel, and ungenerous, because conducted 
with as little frankness, and proceeding from views, 
perhaps, as personally interested. I am, dear Sir, with 
great esteem and regard, your much obliged friend, etc." 

The writing of the foregoing letter was not finished, 



222 PATRICK HENRY. 

when Governor Henry's second letter reached him ; and 
this additional proof of friendship so touched the heart 
of Washington that, on the next day, he wrote again, 
this time with far less self-restraint than before : — 

GEORGE WASHINGTON TO PATRICK HENRY. 

"Camp, 2S 3f arch, 1778. 

" Dear Sir, — Just as I was about to close my 
letter of yesterday, your favor of the 5th instant came 
to hand. I can only thank you again, in the language 
of the most undissembled gratitude, for your friendship; 
and assure you, that the indulgent disposition, which 
Virginia in particular, and the States in general, enter- 
tain towards me, gives me the most sensible pleasure. 
The approbation of my country is what I wish ; and as 
far as my abilities and opportunities will permit, I hope 
I shall endeavor to deserve it. It is the highest reward 
to a feeling mind ; and happy are they, who so conduct 
themselves as to merit it. 

" The anonymous letter with which you were pleased 
to favor me, was written by Dr. Rush, so far as I can 
judge from a similitude of hands. This man has been 
elaborate and studied in his professions of regard for 
me ; and long since the letter to you. My caution to 
avoid anything which could injure the service, pre- 
vented me from communicating, but to a very few of 
my friends, the intrigues of a faction which I know was 
formed against me, since it might serve to publish our 
internal dissensions ; but their own restless zeal to ad- 
vance their views has too clearly betrayed them, and 
made concealment on my part fruitless. I cannot pre- 
cisely mark the extent of their views, but it appeared, 
in general, that General Gates was to be exalted on the 



GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 223 

ruin of my reputation and influence. This I am author- 
ized to say, from undeniable facts in my own possession, 
from publications, the evident scope of which could not 
be mistaken, and from private detractions industriously 
circulated. General Mifflin, it is commonly supposed, 
bore the second part in the cabal ; and General Conway, 
I know, was a very active and malignant partisan ; but 
I have good reason to believe that their machinations 
have recoiled most sensibly upon themselves. With 
sentiments of great esteem and regard, I am, dear Sir, 
your affectionate humble servant." ^ 

This incident in the lives of Washington and of 
Patrick Henry is to be noted by us, not only for its 
own exquisite delicacy and nobility, but likewise as the 
culminating fact in the growth of a very deep and true 
friendship between the two men, — a friendship which 
seems to have begun many years before, probably in 
the house of burgesses, and which lasted with increas- 
ing strength and tenderness, and with but a single epi- 
sode of estrangement, during the rest of their lives. 
Moreover, he who tries to interpret the later career of 
Patrick Henry, especially after the establishment of the 
government under the constitution, and who leaves out 
of the account Henry's profound friendship for Wash- 
ington, and the basis of moral and intellectual congen- 
iality on which that friendship rested, will lose an im- 
portant clew to the perfect naturalness and consistency 
of Henry's political course during his last years. A 
fierce partisan outcry was then raised against him in 
Virginia, and he was bitterly denounced as a political 
apostate, simply because, in the parting of the ways of 
1 Writings of Washington, v. 495-497; 512-515. 



224 PATRICK HENRY. 

Washington and of Jefferson, Patrick Henry no longer 
walked with Jefferson. In truth, Patrick Henry was 
never Washington's follower nor Jefferson's: he was 
no man's follower. From the beginning, he had al- 
ways done for himself his own thinking, whether right 
or wrong. At the same time, a careful student of the 
three men may see that, in his thinking, Patrick Henry 
had a closer and a truer moral kinship with Washington 
than with Jefferson. At present, however, we pause 
before the touching incident that has just been narrated 
in the i-elations between Washington and Henry, in or- 
der to mark its bearing on their subsequent intercourse. 
Washington, in whose nature confidence was a plant of 
slow growth, and who was quick neither to love nor to 
cease from loving, never forgot that proof of his friend's 
friendship. Thenceforward, until that one year in which 
they both died, the letters which passed between them, 
while never effusive, were evidently the letters of two 
strong men who loved and trusted each other without 
reserve. 

Not long before the close of the governor's second 
term in office, he had occasion to write to Richard 
Henry Lee two letters, which are of considerabl ^ in- 
terest, not only as indicating the cordial intimacy be- 
tween these two great rivals in oratory, but also for 
the light they throw both on the under-currents of bit- 
terness then ruffling the politics of Virginia, and on 
Patrick Henry's attitude towards the one great question 
at that time uppermost in the politics of the nation. 
During the previous autumn, it seems, Lee had fallen 
into great disfavor in Virginia, from which, however, he 
had so far emerged, by the 23d of January, 1778, as to 
be then reelected to congress, to fill out an unexpired 



GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 225 

term.^ Shortly afterward, however, harsh speech against 
him was to be heard in Virginia once more, of which 
his friend, the governor, thus informed him, in a let- 
ter dated April 4, 1778 : "You are again traduced by 
a certain set who have drawn in others, who say that 
you are engaged in a scheme to discard General Wash- 
ington. I know you too well to suppose that you 
would engage in anything not evidently calculated to 
serve the cause of whiggism. . . . But it is your fate 
to suffer the constant attacks of disguised tories who 
take this measure to lessen you. Farewell, my dear 
friend. In praying for your welfare, I pray for that 
of my country, to which your life and service are of the 
last moment." "^ 

Furthermore, on the 30tli of May, the general as- 
sembly made choice of their delegates in congress for 
the following year. Lee was again elected, but by so 
small a vote that his name stood next to the lowest on 
the list.^ Concerning this stinging slight, he appears 
to have spoken in his next letters to the governor ; for, 
on the 18th of June, the latter addressed to him, from 
Williamsburg, this reply : — 

" My dear Sir, — Both your last letters came to 
hand to-day. I felt for you, on seeing the order in 
which the balloting placed the delegates in congress. 
It is an effect of that rancorous malice that has so long 
followed you, through that arduous path of duty which 
you have invariably travelled, since America resolved 
to resist her oppressors. 

1 Jour. Va. House Del., 131. 

2 Given in Grigsby, Va. Conv. of 1776, 142 note. 

3 Jour. Va. House Del, 27, 33. 



226 PATRICK HENRY. 

" Is it any pleasure to you to remark, that at the same 
era in which these men figure against you, public spirit 
seems to have taken its flight from Virginia ? It is too 
much the case ; for the quota of our troops is not half 
made up, and no chance seems to remain for completing 
it. The assembly voted three hundred and fifty horse, 
and two thousand men, to be forthwith raised, and to 
join the grand army. Great bounties are offered ; but, 
I fear, the only effect will be to expose our state to 
contempt, — for I believe no soldiers will enlist, es- 
pecially in the infantry. 

"Can you credit it? — no effort was made for sup- 
porting or restoring public credit. I pressed it warmly 
on some, but in vain. This is the reason we get no 
soldiers. 

" We shall issue fifty or sixty thousand dollars in 
cash to equip the cavalry, and their time is to expire 
at Christmas. I believe they will not be in the field be- 
fore that time. 

*' Let not congress rely on Virginia for soldiers. I 
tell you my opinion : they will not be got here, until a 
different spirit prevails." 

In the next paragraph of his letter, the governor 
passes from these local matters to what was then the 
one commanding topic in national affairs. Lord North's 
peace-commissioners had already arrived, and were seek- 
ing to win back the Americans into free colonial rela- 
tions with the mother-country, and away from their new- 
formed friendship with perfidious France. With what 
energy Patrick Henry was prepared to reject all these 
British blandishments, may be read in the passionate 
sentences which conclude his letter : " I look at the 



GOVERNOR A SECOND TIME. 227 

past condition of America, as at a dreadful precipice, 
from which we have escaped by means of the generous 
French, to whom I will be everlastingly bound by the 
most heartfelt gratitude. But I must mistake matters, 
if some of those men who traduce you, do not prefer 
the offers of Britain. You will have a different game 
to play now with the commissioners. How comes 
Governor Johnstone there ? I do not see how it com- 
ports with his past life. 

" Surely congress will never recede from our French 
friends. Salvation to America depends upon our hold- 
ing fast our attachment to them. I shall date our ruin 
from the moment that it is exchanged for anything 
Great Britain can say, or do. She can never be cordial 
with us. Baffled, defeated, disgraced by her colonies, 
she will ever meditate revenge. We can find no safety 
but in her ruin, or, at least, in her extreme humiliation ; 
which has not happened, and cannot happen, until she 
is deluged with blood, or thoroughly purged by a revo- 
lution, which shall wipe from existence the present king 
with his connections, and the present system with those 
who aid and abet it. 

" For God's sake, my dear Sir, quit not the councils 
of your country, until you see us forever disjoined from 
Great Britain. The old leaven still works. The flesh- 
pots of Egypt are still savory to degenerate palates. 
Again we are undone, if the French alliance is not re- 
ligiously observed. Excuse my freedom. I know your 
love to our country, — and this is my motive. May 
Heaven give you health and prosperity. 
" I am yours affectionately, 

" Patrick Henry." ^ 

1 Lee, Life of Richard Henry Lee, i. 195-196. 



228 PATRICK HENRY. 

Before coming to the end of our story of Governor 
Henry's second term, it should be mentioned that twice 
during this period did the general assembly confide to 
him those extraordinary powers which by many were 
spoken of as dictatorial ; first, on the 22d of January, 
1778,^ and again, on the 28th of May, of the same 
year.^ Finally, so safe had been this great trust in 
his hands, and so efiiciently had he borne himself, in all 
the labors and responsibilities of his high office, that, 
on the 29th of May, the house of delegates, by resolu- 
tion, unanimously elected him as governor for a third 
term, — an act in which, on the same day, the senate 
voted its concurrence. On the 30th of May, Thomas 
Jefferson, from the committee appointed to notify the 
governor of his reelection, reported to the house the fol- 
lowing answer: " Gentlemen, — The general assembly, 
in again electing me governor of this commonwealth, 
have done me very signal honor. I trust that their con- 
fidence, thus continued in me, will not be misplaced. I 
beg you will be pleased, gentlemen, to present me to 
the general assembly in terms of grateful acknowledg- 
ment for this fresh instance of their favor towards me ; 
and to assure them, that my best endeavors shall be 
used to promote the public good, in that station to 
which they have once more been pleased to call me." ^ 

1 Jour. Va. House Del, 72, 81, 85, 125, 126. 

2 Ibid. 15, 16, 17. 

3 Ibid. 26, 30. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THIRD YEAR IN THE GOVERNORSHIP. 

Governor Henry's third official year was marked, 
in the great struggle then in progress, by the arrival of 
the French fleet, and by its futile attempts to be of 
any use to those hard-pressed rebels whom the king of 
France had undertaken to encourage in their insubordi- 
nation ; by awful scenes of carnage and desolation in 
the outlying settlements at Wyoming, Cherry Valley, 
and Schoharie ; by British predatory expeditions along 
the Connecticut coast; by the final failure and depar- 
ture of Lord North's peace-commissioners ; and by the 
transfer of the chief seat of war to the south, beginning 
with the capture of Savannah by the British on the 29th 
of December, 1778, followed by their initial movement 
on Charleston, in May, 1779. In the month just men- 
tioned, likewise, the enemy, under command of General 
Matthews and of Sir George Collier, suddenly swooped 
down on Virginia, first seizing Portsmouth and Norfolk, 
and then, after a glorious military debauch of robbery, 
ruin, rape, and murder, and after spreading terror and 
anguish among the undefended populations of Suffolk, 
Kemp's Landing, Tanner's Creek, and Gosport, as sud- 
denly gathered up their booty, and went back in great 
glee to New York. 

In the autumn of 1778, the governor had the happi- 
ness to hear of the really brilliant success of the expedi- 
tion which, with statesmanlike sagacity, he had sent out 



230 PATRICK HENRY. 

under George Rogers Clark, into the Illinois country, 
in the early part of the year.^ Some of the more im- 
portant facts connected with this expedition, he thus an- 
nounced to the Virginia delegates in congress : — 

*' Williamsburg, November 14, 1778. 

" Gentlemen, — The executive power of this state 
having been impressed with a strong apprehension of 
incursions on the frontier settlements from the savages 
situated about the Illinois, and supposing the danger 
would be greatly obviated by an enterprise against the 
English forts and possessions in that country, which 
were well known to inspire the savages with their 
bloody purposes against us, sent a detachment of militia, 
consisting of one hundred and seventy or eighty men 
commanded by Colonel George Rogers Clark, on that 
service some time last spring. By dispatches which I 
have just received from Colonel Clark, it appears that 
his success has equalled the most sanguine expectations. 
He has not only reduced Fort Chartres and its depend- 
encies, but has struck such a terror into the Indian 
tribes between that settlement and the lakes that no 
less than five of them, viz., the Puans, Sacks, Renards, 
Powtowantanies, and Miamis, who had received the 
hatchet from the English emissaries, have submitted to 
our arms all their English presents, and bound them- 
selves by treaties and promises to be peaceful in the 
future. 

"The great Blackbird, the Chappowow chief, has 
also sent a belt of peace to Colonel Clark, influenced, 
he supposes, by the dread of Detroit's being reduced by 

1 Clark's Campaign in the Illinois, 95-97, where Governor Henry's 
public and private instructions are given in full. 



THIRD YEAR IN THE GOVERNORSHIP. 231 

American arms. This latter place, according to Colonel 
Clark's representation, is at present defended by so 
inconsiderable a garrison and so scantily furnished with 
provisions, for which they must be still more distressed 
by the loss of supplies from the Illinois, that it might 
be reduced by any number of men above five hundred. 
The governor of that place, Mr. Hamilton, was exert- 
ing himself to engage the savages to assist him in re- 
taking the places that had fallen into our hands ; but 
the favorable impression made on the Indians in general 
in that quarter, the influence of the French on them, 
and the reenforcement of their militia Colonel Clark 
expected, flattered him that there was little danger to 
be apprehended. ... If the party under Colonel Clark 
can cooperate in any respect with the measures con- 
gress are pursuing or have in view, I shall with pleasure 
give him the necessary orders. In order to improve 
and secure the advantages gained by Colonel Clark, I 
propose to support him with a reenforcement of militia. 
But this will depend on the pleasure of the assembly, 
to whose consideration the measure is submitted. 

" The French inhabitants have manifested great zeal 
and attachment to our cause, and insist on garrisons 
remaining with them under Colonel Clark. This I 
am induced to agree to, because the safety of our own 
frontiers as well as that of these people demands a com- 
pliance with this request. Were it possible to secure 
the St. Lawrence and prevent the English attempts up 
that river by seizing some post on it, peace with the 
Indians would seem to me to be secured. 

" With great regard I have the honor to be, Gent?, 
" Your most obedient Servant, 

" P. Henry." ^ 

1 MS. 



232 PATRICK HENRY. 

During the autumn session of the general assembly, 
that body showed its continued confidence in the gov- 
ernor by passing several acts conferring on him extraor- 
dinary powers, in addition to those already bestowed.-^ 

A letter which the governor wrote at this period to 
the president of congress, respecting military aid from 
Virginia to states further south, may give us some idea, 
not only of his own practical discernment in the mat- 
ters involved, but of the confusion which, in those days, 
often attended military plans issuing from a many- 
headed executive : — 

" Williamsburg, November 28, 1778. 

"Sir, — Your favor of the 16th instant is come to 
hand, together with the acts of congress of the 26th of 
August for establishing provision for soldiers and sail- 
ors maimed or disabled in the public service, — of the 
26th of September for organizing the treasury, a pro- 
clamation for a general thanksgiving, and three copies 
of the alliance between his most Christian Majesty and 
these United States. 

" I lost no time in laying your letter before the privy 
council, and in deliberating with them on the subject 
of sending 1,000 militia to Charlestown, South Carolina. 
I beg to assure congress of the great zeal of every 
member of the executive here to give full efficacy to 
their designs on every occasion. But on the present, 
I am very sorry to observe, that obstacles great and 
I fear unsurmoun table are opposed to the immediate 
iharch of the men. Upon requisition to the deputy 
quartermaster-general in this department for tents, ket- 
tles, blankets, and wagons, he informs they cannot be 

1 Jour. Va. House Del, 30, 36, 66 ; ako Hening, ix. 474-476 ; 477- 
478; 530-532; 584-585. 



THIRD YEAR IN THE GOVERNORSHIP. 233 

had. The season when the march must begin will be 
severe and inclement, and, without the forementioned 
necessaries, impracticable to men indifferently clad and 
equipped as they are in the present general scarcity of 
clothes. 

" The council, as well as myself, are not a little per- 
plexed on comparing this requisition to defend South 
Carolina and Georgia from the assaults of the enemy, 
with that made a few days past for galleys to conquer 
East Florida. The galleys have orders to rendezvous 
at Charlestown, which I was taught to consider as a 
place of acknowledged safety ; and I beg leave to ob- 
serve, that there seems some degree of inconsistency 
in marching militia such a distance in the depth of win- 
ter, under the want of necessaries, to defend a place 
which the former measures seemed to declare safe. 

" The act of assembly whereby it is made lawful to 
order their march, confines the operations to measures 
merely defensive to a sister state, and of whose danger 
there is certain information received. 

" However, as congress have not been pleased to ex- 
plain the matters herein alluded to, and altho' a good 
deal of perplexity remains with me on the subject, I 
have by advice of the privy council given orders for 
1,000 men to be instantly got into readiness to march 
to Charlestown, and they will march as soon as they 
are furnished with tents, kettles, and wagons. In the 
mean time, if intelligence is received that their march 
is essential to the preservation of either of the states of 
South Carolina or Georgia the men will encounter every 
difficulty, and have orders to proceed in the best way 
they can without waiting to be supplied with those 
necessaries commonly afforded to troops even on a sum- 
mer's march. 



234 PATRICK HENRY, 

" I have to beg that congress will please to remember 
the state of embarrassment in which I must necessarily 
remain with respect to the ordering galleys to Charles- 
town, in their way to invade Florida, while the militia 
are getting ready to defend the states bordering on it, 
and that they will please to favor me with the earliest 
intelligence of every circumstance that is to influence 
the measures either offensive or defensive. 

" I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient and 
very humble servant, 

" P. Henry." ^ 

By the early spring of 1779, it became still more 
apparent that the purpose of the enemy was to shift 
the scene of their activity from the middle states to the 
south, and that Virginia, whose soil had never thus far 
been bruised by the tread of a hostile army, must soon 
experience that dire calamity. Perhaps no one saw 
this more clearly than did Governor Henry. At the 
same time, he also saw that Virginia must in part de- 
fend herself by helping to defend her sister states at the 
south, across whose territories the advance of the enemy 
into Virginia was likely to be attempted. His clear 
grasp of the military situation, in all the broad relations 
of his own state to it, is thus revealed in a letter to 
Washington, dated at Williamsburg, 13th of March, 
1779 : "My last accounts from the south are unfavor- 
able. Georgia is said to be in full possession of the en- 
emy, and South Carolina in great danger. The number 
of disaffected there is said to be formidable, and the Creek 
Indians inclining against us. One thousand militia are 
ordered thither from our southern counties ; but a doubt 
1 MS. 



THIRD YEAR IN THE GOVERNORSHIP. 235 

is started whether they are by law obliged to march. I 
have also proposed a scheme to embody volunteers for 
this service ; but I fear the length of the march, and a 
general scarcity of bread, which prevails in some parts 
of North Carolina and this state, may impede this ser- 
vice. About five hundred militia are ordered down the 
Tennessee River, to chastise some new settlements of 
renegade Cherokees that infest our south-western fron- 
tier, and prevent our navigation on that river, from 
which we began to hope for great advantages. Our 
militia have full possession of the Illinois and the posts 
on the Wabash ; and I am not without hopes that the 
same party may overawe the Indians as far as Detroit. 
They are independent of General Mcintosh, whose num- 
bers, although upwards of two thousand, I think could 
not make any great progress, on account, it is said, of 
the route they took, and the lateness of the season. 

" The conquest of Illinois and Wabash was effected 
with less than two hundred men, who will soon be re- 
enforced ; and, by holding posts on the back of the In- 
dians, it is hoped may intimidate them. Forts Natchez 
and Morishac are again in the enemy's hands ; and 
from thence they infest and ruin our trade on the 
Mississippi, on which river the Spaniards wish to open 
a very interesting commerce with us. I have requested 
congress, to authorize the conquest of those two posts, 
as the possession of them will give a colorable pretence 
to retain all West Florida, when a treaty may be 
opened." ^ 

Within two months after that letter was written, the 
dreaded war -ships of the enemy were ploughing the 
waters of Virginia : it was the sorrow-bringing expedi- 
1 Sparks, Corr. Rev., ii. 261-262. 



236 PATRICK HENRY, 

tion of Matthews and Sir George Collier. The news of 
their arrival was thus conveyed by Governor Henry to 
the president of congress : — 

" Williamsburg, 11 May, 1779. 
" Sir, — On Saturday last, in the evening, a British 
fleet amounting to about thirty sail . . . came into the 
Bay of Chesapeake, and the next day proceeded to 
Hampton Road, where they anchored and remained 
quiet until yesterday about noon, when several of the 
ships got under way, and proceeded towards Ports- 
mouth, which place I have no doubt they intend to at- 
tack by water or by land or by both, as they have many 
flat-bottomed boats with them for the purpose of landing 
their troops. As I too well know the weakness of that 
garrison, I am in great pain for the consequences, there 
being great quantities of merchandise, the property of 
French merchants and others in this state, at that place, 
as well as considerable quantities of military stores, 
which, tho' measures some time since were taken to 
remove, may nevertheless fall into the enemy's hands. 
Whether they may hereafter intend to fortify and main- 
tain this post is at present unknown to me, but the 
consequences which will result to this state and to the 
United States finally if such a measure should be 
adopted must be obvious. Whether it may be in the 
power of congress to adopt any measures which can in 
any manner counteract the design of the enemy is sub- 
mitted to their wisdom. At present, I cannot avoid 
intimating that I have the greatest reason to think that 
many vessels from France with public and private mer- 
chandise may unfortunately arrive while the enemy re- 
main in perfect possession of the Bay of Chesapeake, 
and fall victims unexpectedly. 



THIRD YEAR IN THE GOVERNORSHIP. 237 

" Every precaution will be taken to order lookout 
boats on the sea-coasts to furnish proper intelligence ; 
but the success attending this necessary measure will be 
precarious in the present situation of things." ^ 

On the next day, the governor had still heavier 
tidings for the same correspondent : — 

"Williamsburg, May 12, 1779. 
" Sir, — I addressed you yesterday upon a subject of 
the greatest consequence. The last night brought me 
the fatal account of Portsmouth being in possession 
of the enemy. Their force was too great to be resisted, 
and therefore the fort was evacuated after destroying 
one capital ship belonging to the state and one or two 
private ones loaded with tobacco. Goods and mer- 
chandise, however, of very great value fall into the 
enemy's hands. If congress could by solicitations pro- 
cure a fleet superior to the enemy's force to enter 
Chesapeake at this critical period, the prospect of gain 
and advantage would be great indeed. 1 have the honor 
to be, with the greatest regard, Sir, 

" Your most humble and obedient servant, 

" P. Henry." ^ 

To meet this dreadful invasion, the governor at- 
tempted to arouse and direct vigorous measures, in part 
by a proclamation, on the 14th of May, announcing to 
the people of Virginia the facts of the case, " and re- 
quiring the county-lieutenants and other military offi- 
cers in the commonwealth, and especially those on the 
navigable waters, to hold their respective militias in 
readiness to oppose the attempts of the enemy, wher- 
ever they might be made." ^ 

1 MS. 2 MS. 8 Burk, Hist. Va., iv. 338. 



238 PATRICK HENRY. 

On the 21st of the month, in a letter to the president 
of congress, he reported the havoc then wrought by the 
enemy : — 

"Williamsburg, May 11, 1779. 

" Sir, — Being in the greatest haste to dispatch your 
express, I have not time to give you any very partic- 
ular information concerning the present invasion. Let 
it suffice therefore to inform congress that the number 
of the enemy's ships are nearly the same as was men- 
tioned in my former letter ; with regard to the number 
of the troops which landed and took Portsmouth, and 
afterwards proceeded and burnt, plundered, and de- 
stroyed Suffolk, committing various barbarities, etc., we 
are still ignorant, as the accounts from the deserters dif- 
fer widely ; perhaps, however, it may not exceed 2,000 
or 2,500 men. 

" I trust that a sufficient number of troops are em- 
bodied and stationed in certain proportions at this 
place, York, Hampton, and on the south side of James 
River. . . . When any further particulars come to 
my knowledge they shall be communicated to congress 
without delay. 

" I have the honor to be. Sir, your humble servant, 

" P. Henry. 

" P. S. I am pretty certain that the land forces are 
commanded by Gen'l. Matthews and the fleet by Sir 
George Collier." ^ 

In the very midst of this ugly storm, it was required 
that the ship of state should undergo a change of com- 
manders. The third year for which Governor Henry 
had been elected was nearly at an end. There were some 
1 MS. 



THIRD YEAR IN THE GOVERNORSHIP. 239 

members of the assembly who thought him eligible as 
governor for still another year, on the ground that his 
first election was by the convention, and that the year 
of office which that body gave to him " was merely 
provisory," and formed no proper part of his constitu- 
tional term.^ Governor Henry himself, however, could 
not fail to perceive the unfitness of any struggle upon 
such a question at such a time, as well as the futility 
which would attach to that high office, if held, amid 
such perils, under a clouded title. Accordingly, on the 
28th of May, he cut short all discussion, by sending 
to the speaker of the house of delegates the following 
letter ; — 

"May 28, 1779. 

" Sir, — The term for which I had the honor to be 
elected governor by the late assembly being just about 
to expire, and the constitution, as I think, making me 
ineligible to that office, I take the liberty to communi- 
cate to the assembly through you, Sir, my intention to 
retire in four or five days. 

" I have thought it necessary to give this notification 
of my design, in order that the assembly may have the 
earliest opportunity of deliberating upon the choice of a 
successor to me in office. 

" With great regard, I have the honor to be. Sir, your 
most obedient servant, P. Henry." ^ 

On the 1st of June, Thomas Jefferson was elected to 
succeed him in office, but by a majority of only six 
votes out of one hundred and twenty-eight.^ On the 
following day Patrick Henry, having received certain 

1 Burk, Hist. Va., W. 350. 2 Wirt, 225. 

8 Jour. Va. House Del., 29. 



240 PATRICK HENRY. 

resolutions from the general assembly^ commending 
him for his conduct while governor, graciously closed 
this chapter of his official life by the following letter : — 

" Gentlemen, — The house of delegates have done 
me very great honor in the vote expressive of their ap- 
probation of my public conduct. I beg the favor of you, 
gentlemen, to convey to that honorable house my most 
cordial acknowledgments, and to assure them that I 
shall ever retain a grateful remembrance of the high 
honor they have now conferred on me." ^ 

In the midst of these frank voices of public appreci- 
ation over the fidelity and efficiency of his service as 
governor, there were, doubtless, the usual murmurs of 
partisan criticism or of personal ill-will. For example, 
a few days after Jefferson had taken his seat in the 
stately chair which Patrick Henry had just vacated, St. 
George Tucker, in a letter to Theophilus Bland, gave 
expression to this sneer : " Sub rosa, I wish his ex- 
cellency's activity may be equal to the abilities he pos- 
sesses in so eminent a degree. . . . But if he should 
tread in the steps of his predecessor, there is not much 
to be expected from the brightest talents."^ Over 
against a taunt like this, one can scarcely help placing 
the fact that the general of the armies who, for three 
stern years, had been accustomed to lean heavily for 
help on this governor of Virginia, and who never paid 
idle compliments, nevertheless paid many a tribute to 
the intelligence, zeal, and vigorous activity of Governor 
Henry's administration. Thus, on the 27th of Decem- 
ber, 1777, Washington writes to him: "In several of 

1 Burk, Hist. Va., 350. 2 Jour. Va. House Del., 32. 

3 Bland Papers, ii. 11. 



THIRD YEAR IN THE GOVERNORSHIP. 241 

my late letters, I addressed you on the distress of the 
troops for want of clothing. Your ready exertions to 
relieve them have given me the highest satisfaction." ^ 
On the 19th of February, 1778, Washington again 
writes to him : '' I address myself to you, convinced 
that our alarming distresses will engage your most seri- 
ous consideration, and that the full force of that zeal 
and vigor you have manifested upon every other occa- 
sion, will now operate for our relief, in a matter that 
so nearly affects the very existence of our contest." ^ 
On the 19th of April, 1778, Washington once more 
writes to him : " I hold myself infinitely obliged to the 
legislature for the ready attention which they have paid 
to my representation of the wants of the army, and to 
you for the strenuous manner in which you have recom- 
mended to the people an observance of my request." ^ 
Finally, if any men had even better opportunities than 
Washington, for estimating correctly Governor Henry's 
efficiency in his great office, surely those men were his 
intimate associates, the members of the Virginia legisla- 
ture. It is quite possible that their first election of him 
as governor may have been in ignorance of his real 
qualities as an executive officer ; but this cannot be said 
of their second, and of their third elections of him, each 
one of which was made, as we have seen, without one 
audible lisp of opposition. Is it to be believed that, if 
he had really shown that lack of executive efficiency 
which St. George Tucker's sneer implies, such a body 
of men, in such a crisis of public danger, would have 
twice and thrice elected him to the highest executive 
office in the state, and that, too, without one dissenting 
vote ? To say so, indeed, is to fix a far more damning 
censure upon them than upon him. 

1 MS. 2 MS. » MS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

AT HOME AND IN THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 

The high official rank which Governor Henry had 
borne during the first three years of American inde- 
pendence was so impressive to the imaginations of the 
French allies who were then in the country, that some 
of them addressed their letters to him as " Son Altesse 
Royale, Monsieur Patrick Henri, Gouverneur de I'Etat 
de Virginie." ^ From this titular royalty he descended, 
as we have seen, about the 1st of June, 1779 ; and for 
the subsequent five and a half years, until his recall to 
the governorship, he is to be viewed by us as a very 
retired country gentleman in delicate health, with epi- 
sodes of labor and of leadership in the Virginia house 
of delegates. 

A little more than a fortnight after his descent from 
the governor's chair, he was elected by the general 
assembly as a delegate in congress.^ It is not known 
whether he at any time thought it possible for him to 
accept this appointment; but, on the 28th of the fol- 
lowing October, the body that had elected him received 
from him a letter declining the service.' Moreover, in 
spite of all invitations and entreaties, Patrick Henry 
never afterward served in any public capacity outside 
the state of Virginia. 

1 Rives, Life, of Madison, i. 189, note. 

2 Jour. Va. House Del, 54. 3 ibid. 27. 



AT HOME AND IN BOUSE OF DELEGATES. 243 

During his three years in the governorship, he had 
lived in the palace at Williamsburg. In the course of 
that time, also, he had sold his estate of Scotchtown, in 
Hanover County, and had purchased a large tract of laud 
in the new county of Henry, — a county situated about 
two hundred miles southwest from Richmond, along 
the North Carolina boundary, and named, of course, in 
honor of himself. To his new estate there, called Lea- 
therwood, consisting of about ten thousand acres, he re- 
moved early in the summer of 1779. This continued 
to be his home until he resumed the office of governor 
in November, 1784.^ 

After the storm and stress of so many years of public 
life, and of public life in an epoch of revolution, the 
invalid body, the care-burdened spirit, of Patrick Henry 
must have found great refreshment in this removal to a 
distant, wild, and mountainous solitude. In undisturbed 
seclusion, he there remained during the summer and 
autumn of 1779, and even the succeeding winter and 
spring, — scarcely able to hear the far-off noises of the 
great struggle in which he had hitherto borne so rugged 
a part, and of which the victorious issue was then to be 
seen by him, though dimly, through many a murky rack 
of selfishness, cowardice, and crime. 

His successor in the office of governor was Thomas 
Jefferson, the jovial friend of his own jovial youth, 
bound to him still by that hearty friendship which was 
founded on congeniality of political sentiment, but was 
afterward to die away, at least on Jefferson's side, into 
alienation and hate. To this dear friend Patrick Henry 
wrote late in that winter, from his hermitage among 
the eastward fastnesses of the Blue Ridge, a remarkable 
IMS. 



244 PATRICK HENRY. 

letter, which has never before been in print, and which 
is full of interest for us on account of its impulsive and 
self-revealing words. Its tone of despondency, almost 
of misanthropy, — so unnatural to Patrick Henry, — 
is perhaps a token of that sickness of body which had 
made the soul sick too, and had then driven the writer 
into the wilderness, and still kept him there : — 

TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

^^ Leatherwood, 15th Feby., 1780. 

"Dear Sir, — I return you many thanks for your 
favor by Mr. Sanders. The kind notice you were 
pleased to take of me was particularly obliging, as I 
have scarcely heard a word of public matters since I 
moved up in the retirement where I live. 

" I have had many anxieties for our commonwealth, 
principally occasioned by the depreciation of our money. 
To judge by this, which somebody has called the pulse 
of the state, I have feared that our body politic was 
dangerously sick. God grant it may not be unto death. 
But I cannot forbear thinking, the present increase of 
prices is in great part owing to a kind of habit, which is 
now of four or five years' growth, which is fostered by 
a mistaken avarice, and like other habits hard to part 
with. For there is really very little money hereabouts. 

" What you say of the practice of our distinguished 
lories perfectly agrees with my own observation, and 
the attempts to raise prejudices against the French, I 
know were begun when I lived below. What gave me 
the utmost pain was to see some men, indeed very many, 
who were thought good whigs, keep company with the 
miscreants, — wretches who, I am satisfied, were labor- 
ing our destruction. This countenance shown them is 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 245 

of fatal tendency. They should be shunned and ex- 
ecrated, and this is the only way to supply the place of 
legal conviction and punishment. But this is an effort 
of virtue, small as it seems, of which our countrymen 
are not capable. 

" Indeed, I will own to you, my dear Sir, that observ- 
ing this impunity and even respect, which some wicked 
individuals have met with while their guilt was clear as 
the sun, has sickened me, and made me sometimes wish 
to be in retirement for the rest of my life. I will, how- 
ever, be down, on the next assembly, if I am chosen. 
My health, I am satisfied, will never again permit a 
close application to sedentary business, and I even 
doubt whether I can remain below long enough to serve 
in the assembly. I will, however, make the trial. 

" But tell me, do you remember any instance where 
tyranny was destroyed and freedom established on its 
ruins, among a people possessing so small a share of 
virtue and public spirit. I recollect none, and this, 
more than the British arms, makes me fearful of final 
success without a reform. But when or how this is to 
be effected, I have not the means of judging. I most 
sincerely wish you health and prosperity. If you can 
spare time to drop me a line now and then, it will be 
highly obliging to, dear Sir, your affectionate friend 
and obedient servant, P. Henry." ^ 

The next general assembly, which he thus promised 
to attend in case he should be chosen, met at Rich- 
mond on the 1st of May, 1780. It hardly needs to be 
mentioned that the people of Henry County were proud 
to choose him as one of their members in that body * 
1 MS. 



246 PATRICK RENRY. 

but he seems not to have taken his seat there until 
about the 19th of May. ^ From the moment of his ar- 
rival in the house of delegates, every kind of responsi- 
bility and honor was laid upon him. This was his first 
appearance in such an assembly since the proclamation 
of independence ; and the prestige attaching to his name, 
as well as his own undimmed genius for leadership, 
made him not only the most conspicuous person in the 
house, but the nearly absolute director of its business in 
every detail of opinion and of procedure, on which he 
should choose to express himself, — his only rival, in 
any particular, being Richard Henry Lee. It helps one 
now to understand the real reputation he had among his 
contemporaries for practical ability, and for a habit of 
shrinking from none of the commonplace drudgeries of 
legislative work, that during the first few days after his 
accession to the house, he was placed on the committee 
of ways and means ; on a committee " to inquire into 
the present state of the account of the commonwealth 
against the United States, and the most speedy and ef- 
fectual method of finally settling the same " ; on a com- 
mittee to prepare a bill for the repeal of a part of the 
act " for sequestering British property, enabling those 
indebted to British subjects to pay off such debts, and 
directing the proceedings in suits where such subjects 
are parties " ; on three several committees respecting 
the powers and duties of high sheriffs and of grand ju- 
ries ; and, finally, on a committee to notify Jefferson of 
his reelection as governor, and to report his answer to 
the house. On the 7th of June, however, after a service 
of little more than two weeks, his own sad apprehen- 
sions respecting his health seem to have been realized, 
1 Jour. Va. House Del., 14. 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 247 

and he was obliged to ask leave to withdraw from the 
house for the remainder of the session. ^ 

At the autumn session of the legislature, he was once 
more in his place. On the 6th of November, the day 
on which the house was organized, he was made chair- 
man of the committee on privileges and elections, and also 
of a committee " for the better defence of the southern 
frontier," and was likewise placed on the committee on 
propositions and grievances, as well as on the committee 
on courts of justice. On the following day, he was made 
a member of a committee for the defence of the east- 
ern frontier. On the 10th of November, he was placed 
on a committee to bring in a bill relating to the enlist- 
ment of Virginia troops, and to the redemption of the 
state bills of credit then in circulation, and the emission 
of new bills. On the 22d of November, he was made 
a member of a committee to which was again referred 
the accounts between the state and the United States. 
On the 9th of December, he was made a member of a 
committee to draw up bills for the organization and 
maintenance of a navy for the state, and the protection 
of navigation and- commerce upon its waters. On the 
14th of December, he was made chairman of a com- 
mittee to draw up a bill for the better regulation and 
discipline of the militia, and of still another committee to 
prepare a bill " for supplying the army with clothes and 
provisions." ^ On the 28th of December, the house 
having knowledge of the arrival in town of poor Gen- 
eral Gates, then drooping under the burden of those 
Southern willows which he had so plentifully gathered 
at Camden, Patrick Henry introduced the following 

1 Jour. Va. House Del., 14, 15, 18, 25, 28, 31, 39. 

2 Ibid. 7, 8, 10, 14, 24, 45, 50, 51. 



248 PATRICK HENRY. 

magnanimous resolution : " That a committee of four 
be appointed to wait on Major General Gates, and to 
assure him of the high regard and esteem of this house ; 
that the remembrance of his former glorious services 
cannot be obliterated by any reverse of fortune ; but 
that this house, ever mindful of his great merit, will 
omit no opportunity of testifying to the world the grati- 
tude which, as a member of the American union, this 
country owes to him in his military character." ^ Ou 
the 2d of January, 1781, the last day of the session, 
the house adopted, on Patrick Henry's motion, a reso- 
lution authorizing the governor to convene the next 
meeting of the legislature at some other place than 
Richmond, in case its assembling in that city should 
" be rendered inconvenient by the operations of an in- 
vading enemy," ^ a resolution reflecting their sense of 
the peril then hanging over the state. 

Before the legislature could again meet, events proved 
that it was no imaginary danger against which Patrick 
Henry's resolution had been intended to provide. On 
the 2d of January, 1781, the very day on which the 
legislature had adjourned, a hostile fleet conveyed into 
the James River a force of about eight hundred men 
under command of Benedict Arnold, whose eagerness to 
ravage Virginia was still further facilitated by the ar- 
rival, on the 26th of March, of two thousand men un- 
der General Phillips. Moreover, Lord Cornwallis, 
having beaten General Greene at Guildford, in North 
Carolina, on the 15th of March, had no barrier left 
between himself and a speedy advance into Virginia. 
That the roar of his guns w-ould soon be heard in the 
outskirts of their capital, was what all Virginians then 
perceived to be inevitable. 

1 Jour. Va. House Del., 71. 2 ibid. 79. 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 249 

Under such circumstances, it is not strange that a 
session of the legislature, which is said to have been 
held on the 1st of March, ^ should have been a very 
brief one, or that when the 7th of May arrived, — the 
day for its re-assembling at Richmond, — no quorum 
should have been present; or that, on the 10th of May, 
the few members who had arrived in Richmond should 
have voted, in deference to " the approach of an hostile 
army," ^ to adjourn to Charlottesville, — a place of far 
greater security, ninety-seven miles to the north-west, 
among ^he mountains of Albemarle. By the 20th of 
May, Cornwariis reached Petersburg, twenty - three 
miles south of Richmond ; and shortly afterward, push- 
ing across the James and the Chickahominy, he en- 
camped on the North Anna, in the county of Hanover. 
Thus, at last, the single county of Louisa then separated 
him from that county in which was the home of the 
governor of the state, and where was then convened its 
legislature, — Patrick Henry himself being present and 
in obvious direction of all its business. The opportunity 
to bag such game, Lord Cornwallis was not the man 
to let slip. Accordingly, on Sunday, the 3d of June, 
he despatched a swift expedition under Tarleton, to 
surprise and capture the members of the legislature, " to 
seize on the person of the governor," and " to spread 
on his route devastation and terror." ^ In this entire 
scheme, doubtless, Tarleton would have succeeded, had 
it not been that as he and his troopers, on that fair 
Sabbath-day, were hurrying past the Cuckoo tavern in 
Louisa, one Captain John Jouette, watching from be- 
hind the windows, espied them, divined their object, 

1 Burk, Hist. Va., iv. 491. 2 Jour. Va. House Del., 1. 

3 Burk, Hist. Va., iv. 496-497. 



250 PATRICK HENRY. 

and mounting a fleet horse, and taking a shorter route, 
got into Charlottesville a few hours in advance of them, 
just in time to give the alarm, and to set the imperilled 
legislators allying to the mountains for safety. 

Then, by all accounts, was witnessed a display of the 
locomotive energies of grave and potent senators, such 
as this world has not often exhibited. Of this tragic- 
ally comical incident, of course, the journal of the house 
of delegates makes only the most placid and forbearing 
mention. For Monday, June 4th, its chief entry is as 
follows : " There being reason to apprehend an imme- 
diate incursion of the enemy's cavalry to this place, 
which renders it indispensable that the general assembly 
should forthwith adjourn to a place of greater security ; 
resolved, that this house be adjourned until Thursday 
next, then to meet at the town of Staunton, in the 
county of Augusta," — a town thirty-nine miles further 
west, beyond a chain of mountains, and only to be 
reached by them or their pursuers through difficult 
passes in the Blue Ridge. The next entry in the 
journal is dated at Staunton, on the 7th of June, and, 
very properly, is merely a prosaic and business - like 
record of the re-assembling of the house according to 
the adjournment aforesaid.^ 

But as to some of the things that happened in that 
interval of panic and of scrambling flight, popular tra- 
dition has not been equally forbearing ; and while the 
anecdotes upon that subject, which have descended to 
our time, are very likely decorated by many tassels of 
exaggeration and of myth, they yet have, doubtless, 
some slight framework of truth, and do really portray 
for us the actual beliefs of many people in Virginia re- 
1 Jour. Va. House Del., 10. 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 251 

specting a number of their celebrated men, and espe- 
cially respecting some of the less celebrated traits of 
those men. For example, it is related that on the sud- 
den adjournment of the house, caused by this dusty 
and breathless apparition of the speedful Jouette, and 
his laconic intimation that Tarleton was coming, the 
members, though somewhat accustomed to ceremony, 
stood not upon the order of their going, but went at 
once, — taking first to their horses, and then to the 
woods ; and that, breaking up into small parties of fugi- 
tives, they thus made their several ways, as best they 
could, through the passes of the mountains leading to 
the much-desired seclusion of Staunton. One of these 
parties consisted of Benjamin Harrison, Colonel Wil- 
liam Christian, John Tyler, and Patrick Henry. Late 
in the day, tired and hungry, they stopped their horses 
at the door of a small hut, in a gorge of the hills, 
and asked for food. An old woman, who came to the 
door, and who was alone in the house, demanded 
of them who they were, and where they were from. 
Patrick Henry, who acted as spokesman of the party, 
answered : " We are members of the legislature, and 
have just been compelled to leave Charlottesville on 
account of the approach of the enemy." " Ride on, 
then, ye cowardly knaves," replied she, in great wrath ; 
" here have my husband and sons just gone to Char- 
lottesville to fight for ye, and you running away with 
all your might. Clear out — ye shall have nothing 
here." " But," rejoined Mr. Henry, in an expostulat- 
ing tone, " we were obliged to fiy. It would not do 
for the legislature to be broken up by the enemy. 
Here is Mr. Speaker Harrison ; you don't think he 
would have fled had it not been necessary ? " "I al- 



252 PATRICK EENRY. 

ways thought a great deal of Mr. Harrison till now/' 
answered the old woman ; " but he 'd no business to 
run from the enemy," and she was about to shut the 
door in their faces. " Wait a moment, my good woman," 
urged Mr. Henry ; " you would hardly believe that Mr. 
Tyler or Colonel Christian would take to flight if there 
were not good cause for so doing ? " " No, indeed, that 
I would n't," she replied. " But," exclaimed he, " Mr. 
Tyler and Colonel Christian are here." " They here ? 
Well, I never would have thought it " ; and she stood 
for a moment in doubt, but at once added, " No matter. 
We love these gentlemen, and I didn't suppose they 
would ever run away from the British ; but since they 
have, they shall have nothing to eat in my house. You 
may ride along." In this desperate situation, Mr. Tyler 
then stepped forward and said, " What would you say, 
my good woman, if I were to tell you that Patrick 
Henry fled with the rest of us ? " " Patrick Henry ! I 
should tell you there wasn't a word of truth in it," she 
answered angrily ; " Patrick Henry would never do 
such a cowardly thing." " But this is Patrick Henry," 
said Mr. Tyler, pointing to him. The old woman was 
amazed ; but after some reflection, and with a convul- 
sive twitch or two at her apron string, she said, " Well, 
then, if that's Patrick Henry, it must be all right. 
Come in, and ye shall have the best I have in the 
house." ^ 

The pitiless tongue of tradition does not stop here, 
but proceeds to narrate other alleged experiences of 
this our noble, though somewhat disconcerted, Patrick. 
Arrived at last in Staunton, and walking through its 

1 L. G. Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers^ i. 81-83, where it 
is said to be taken from Abel's Life of John Tyler. 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 253 

reassuring streets, he is said to have met one Colonel 
"William Lewis, to whom the face of the orator was 
then unknown ; and to have told to this stranger the 
story of the flight of the legislature from Albemarle. 
" If Patrick Henry had been in Albemarle," was the 
stranger's comment, " the British dragoons never would 
have passed over the Rivanna River." ^ 

The tongue of tradition, at last grown quite reckless, 
perhaps, of its own credit, still further relates that even 
at Staunton, these illustrious fugitives did not feel en- 
tirely sure that they were beyond the reach of Tarle- 
ton's men. A few nights after their arrival there, as 
the story runs, upon some sudden alarm, several of them 
sprang from their beds, and, imperfectly clapping on 
their clothes, fled out of the town, and took refuge at the 
plantation of one Colonel George Moffett, near which, 
they had been told, was a cave in which they might 
the more effectually conceal themselves. Mrs. Moffett, 
though not knowing the names of these flitting Solons, 
yet received them with true Virginian hospitality ; but 
the next morning, at breakfast, she made the unlucky 
remark that there was one member of the legislature 
who certainly would not have run from the enemy. 
" Who is he .'' " was then asked. Her reply was, " Pat- 
rick Henry." At that moment, a gentleman of the 
party, himself possessed of but one boot, was observed 
to blush considerably. Furthermore, as soon as possi- 
ble after breakfast, these imperilled legislators departed 
in search of the cave ; shortly after which a negro from 
Staunton rode up, carrying in his hand a solitary boot, 
and inquiring earnestly for Patrick Henry. In that 
way, as the modern reporter of this very debatable tra- 

1 Peyton, Hist. Augusta Co., 211. 



254 PATRICK HENRY. 

dition unkindly adds, the admiring Mrs. Moffett ascer- 
tained who it was that the boot fitted ; and he further 
suggests that, whatever Mrs. Moffett's emotions were 
at that time, those of Patrick must have been, " Give 
me liberty, but not death." ^ 

Passing by these whimsical tales, we have now to add 
that the legislature, having, on the 7th of June, entered 
upon its work at Staunton, steadily continued it there 
until the 23d of the month, when it adjourned in orderly 
fashion, to meet again in the following October. Gov- 
ernor Jefferson, whose second year of office had expired 
two days before the flight of himself and the legisla- 
ture from Charlottesville, did not accompany that body 
to Staunton, but pursued his own way to Poplar Forest 
and to Bedford, where, " remote from the legislature," ^ 
he remained during the remainder of its session. On 
the 12th of June, Thomas Nelson was elected as his 
successor in office.^ 

It was during this period of confusion and terror, 
that, as Jefferson alleges, the legislature once more had 
before it the project of a dictator, in the criminal sense 
of that word ; and, upon Jefferson's private authority, 
both Wirt and Girardin long afterward named Patrick 
Henry as the man who was intended for this profligate 
honor.* We need not here repeat what was said, in 
our narrative of the closing weeks of 1776, concerning 
this terrible posthumous imputation upon the public and 
private character of Patrick Henry. Nearly everything 

1 Peyton, Hist. Augusta Co., 211. 

2 Randall, Life of Jefferson, i. 352. 

3 Jour. Va. House Del., 15. 

4 Jefferson's Writings, viii. 368; Wirt, 231; Girardin, in Burk, 
Hist. Va., iv. App. pp. xi.-xii. ; Randall, Life of Jefferson, i. 348- 
352. 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 255 

which then appeared to the discredit of this charge in 
connection with the earlier date, is equally applicable 
to it in connection with the later date also. Moreover, 
as regards this later date, there has recently been dis- 
covered a piece of contemporaneous testimony which 
shows that, whatever may have been the scheme for a 
dictatorship in Virginia in 1781, it was a great military 
chieftain who was wanted for the position ; and, ap- 
parently, that Patrick Henry was not then even men- 
tioned in the affair. On the 9th of June, 1781, Captain 
H. Young, a member of the house of burgesses, writes 
from Staunton to Colonel William Davies, as follows : 
" Two days ago, Mr. Nicholas gave notice that he 
should this day move to have a dictator appointed. 
General Washington and General Greene are talked of. 
I dare say your knowledge of these worthy gentlemen 
will be sufficient to convince you that neither of them 
will, or ought to, accept of such an appointment. . . . 
We have but a thin house of delegates ; but they are 
zealous, I think, in the cause of virtue." ^ Further- 
more, the journal of that house contains no record of 
any such motion having been made ; and it is probable 
that it never was made, and that the subject never came 
before the legislature in any such form as to call for its 
notice. 

Finally, with respect to both the dates mentioned by 
Jefferson for the appearance of the scheme, Edmund 
Randolph has left explicit testimony to the effect that 
such a scheme never had any substantial existence at 
all : " Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia, speaks 
with great bitterness against those members of the as- 
sembly in the years 1776 and 1781, who espoused the 
1 Calendar Va. State Papers, ii. 152. 



256 PATRICK HENRY. 

erection of a dictator. ComiDg from such authority, 
the invective infects the character of the legislature, 
notwithstanding he has restricted the charge to less 
than a majority, and acknowledged the spotlessness of 
most of them. . . . The subject was never before them, 
except as an article of newspaper intelligence, and even 
then not in a form which called for their attention. 
Against this unfettered monster, which deserved all the 
impassioned reprobation of Mr. Jefferson, their tones, 
it may be affirmed, would have been loud and tremen- 
dous." ^ 

For its autumn session, in 1781, the legislature did 
not reach an organization until the 19th of November, 
— just one month after the surrender of Cornwallis. 
Eight days after the organization of the house, Patrick 
Henry took his seat ; ^ and after a service of less than 
four weeks, he obtained leave of absence for the re- 
mainder of the session.^ During 1782, his attendance 
upon the house seems to have been limited to the spring 
session. At the organization of the house, on the 12th 
of May, 1783, he was in his place again, and during 
that session, as well as the autumnal one, his attendance 
was close and laborious. At both sessions of the house 
in 1784 he was present and in full force; but in the 
very midst of these employments he was interrupted by 
his election as governor, on the 17th of November, — 
shortly after which, he withdrew to his country-seat in 
order to remove his family thence to the capital. 

In the course of all these labors in the legislature, and 
amid a multitude of topics merely local and temporary, 
Patrick Henry had occasion to deal publicly, and under 

1 MS. Hist. Va. 2 jour. Va. House Del, for Nov. 27. 

3 Jour» Va. House Del., for Dec. 21. 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 257 

the peculiar responsibilities of leadership, with nearly all 
the naost important and difficult questions that came be- 
fore the American people during the latter j^ears of the 
war and the earlier years of the peace. The journal of 
the house for that period omits all mention of words 
spoken in debate ; and although it does occasionally en- 
able us to ascertain on which side of certain questions 
Patrick Henry stood, it leaves us in total ignorance of 
his reasons for any position which he chose to take. In 
trying, therefore, to estimate the quality of his states- 
manship when dealing with these questions, we lack a 
part of the evidence which is essential to any just con- 
clusion ; and we are left peculiarly at the mercy of those 
sweeping censures which have been occasionally applied 
to his political conduct during that period.^ 

On the assurance of peace, in the spring of 1783, 
perhaps the earliest and the knottiest problem which 
had to be taken up was the one relating to that vast 
body of Americans who then bore the contumelious 
name of tories, — those Americans who, against all 
loss and ignominy, had steadily remained loyal to the 
unity of the British empire, unflinching in their rejection 
of the constitutional heresy of American secession. How 
should these execrable beings — the defeated party in a 
long and most rancorous civil war — be treated by the 
party which was at last victorious? Many of them 
were already in exile : should they be kept there ? 
Many were still in this country : should they be ban- 
ished from it ? As a matter of fact, the exasperation of 
public feeling against the tories was, at that time, so 
universal and so fierce that no statesman could then lift . 

1 For example, Bland Papers, ii. 51 ; Rives, Life of Madison, i. 
536 ; ii. 240, note. 



258 PATRICK HENRY. 

up his voice in their favor without dashing himself 
against the angriest currents of popular opinion and pas- 
sion, and risking the loss of the public favor toward him- 
self. Nevertheless, precisely this is what Patrick Henry 
had the courage to do. While the war lasted, no man 
spoke against the tories more sternly than did he. The 
war being ended, and its great purpose secured, no man, 
excepting perhaps Alexander Hamilton, was so prompt 
and so energetic in urging that all animosities of the war 
should be laid aside, and that a policy of magnanimous 
forbearance should be pursued respecting these baffled 
opponents of American independence. It was in this 
spirit that, as soon as possible after the cessation of 
hostilities, he introduced a bill for the repeal of an act 
" to prohibit intercourse with, and the admission of 
British subjects into " Virginia,^ — language well un- 
derstood to refer to the tories. This measure, we are 
told, not only excited surprise, but " was, at first, re- 
ceived with a repugnance apparently insuperable." 
Even his intimate friend, John Tyler, the speaker of 
the house, hotly resisted it in the committee of the 
whole, and, in the course of his argument, turning to 
Patrick Henry, asked, " how he, above all other men, 
could think of inviting into his family an enemy from 
whose insults and injuries he had suffered so severely ? '* 
In reply to this appeal, Patrick Henry declared that 
the question before them was not one of personal feel- 
ing ; that it was a nation al question ; and that in dis- 
cussing it, they should be willing to sacrifice all personal 
resentments, all private wrongs. He then proceeded to 
unfold the proposition that America had everything out 
of which to make a great nation — except people. 
1 Jour. Va. House Del., 42. 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 259 

" Your great want, sir, is the want of men ; and these 
you must have, and will have speedily, if you are wise. 
Do you ask how you are to get them ? Open your 
doors, sir, and they will come in. The population of 
the old world is full to overflowing ; that population is 
ground, too, by the oppressions of the governments 
under which they live. Sir, they are already standing on 
tiptoe upon their native shores, and looking to your coasts 
with a wishful and longing eye. . . . But gentlemen 
object to any accession from Great Britain, and particu- 
larly to the return of the British refugees. Sir, I feel no 
objection to the return of those deluded people. They 
have, to be sure, mistaken their own interests most wo- 
fully, and most wofully have they suffered the punish- 
ment due to their offences. But the relations which we 
bear to them and to their native country are now 
changed. Their king hath acknowledged our indepen- 
dence. The quarrel is over. Peace hath returned, and 
found us a free people. Let us have the magnanimity, 
sir, to lay aside our antipathies and prejudices, and con- 
sider the subject in a political light. Those are an en- 
terprising, moneyed people. They will be serviceable 
in taking off the surplus produce of our lands, and sup- 
plying us with necessaries during the infant state of our 
manufactures. Even if they be inimical to us in point 
of feeling and principle, I can see no objection, in a 
political view, in making them tributary to our advan- 
tage. And, as I have no prejudices to prevent my 
making this use of them, so, sir, I have no fear of any 
mischief that they can do us. Afraid of them ? What, 
sir [said he, rising to one of his loftiest attitudes, and 
assuming a look of the most indignant and sovereign 



260 PATRICK HENRY. 

contempt], shall we, who have laid the proud British 
lion at our feet, now be afraid of his whelps ? " ^ 

In the same spirit he dealt with the restraints on 
British commerce imposed during the war, — a question 
similar to the one just mentioned, at least in this partic- 
ular, that it was enveloped in the angry prejudices born 
of the conflict just ended. The journal for the 13th of 
May, 1783, has this entry: "Mr. Henry presented, 
according to order, a bill ' to repeal the several acts of 
assembly for seizure and condemnation of British goods 
found on land ; ' and the same was received and read 
the first time, and ordered to be read a second time." 
In advocating this measure, he seems to have lifted the 
discussion clear above all petty considerations to the 
plane of high and permanent principle ; and according 
to one of his chief antagonists in that debate, to have 
met all objections by arguments that were " beyond all 
expression eloquent and sublime." After describing 
the emb,arrassments and distresses of the situation, and 
their causes, he took the ground that perfect freedom 
was as (necessary to the health and vigor of commerce, 
as it wat to the health and vigor of citizenship. " Why 
should ^e fetter commerce ? If a man is in chains, he 
droops ^nd bows to the earth, for his spirits are broken ; 
but let him twist the fetters from his legs, and he will 
stand erect. Fetter not commerce, sir. Let her be as 
free as air ; she will range the whole creation, and re- 
turn on the wings of the four winds of heaven, to bless 
the land with plenty." ^ 

Besides these and other problems in the foreign rela- 
tions of the country, there remained, of course, at the 

1 John Tyler, in Wirt, 233, 236. 

2 Ibid. 237-238. 



1/ 

^j. rj^OME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 261 

, -Ae war several vast domestic problems for 
ATLencau p^^^^smanship to grapple with, — one of these 
bsinp- the l^elations of the white race to their perpetual 
neigbborsj ^^^ Indians. In the autumn session of 1784, in 
a gcriea olf^ffo^ts said to have been marked by " irresist- 
ible earnes't^^ss and eloquence," he secured the favor- 
i.=e atteniTioJi of the house to this ancient problem, and 
^.^en to hi^p ^^^ daring and statesmanlike solution of it 
The whole ^ subject, as he thought, had been commonly 
treated bv I the superior race in a spirit not only mean 
and hard, but superficial also : the result being nearly 
two centui i^s of mutual suspicion, hatred, and slaughter. 
At last'tbf time had come for the superior race to put 
an end to fbis traditional disaster and disgrace. Instead 
of tampering with the difficulty by remedies applied 
merely to T^he surface, he was for striking at the root 
ot it, naa\-: ly, at the deep divergence in sympathy and 
in interest between the two races. There was but on© 
way in whijch to do this : it was for the white race to 
treat the Indians, consistently, as human beings, and as 
fast as poss^ible to identify their interests with our own 
.along the entire range of personal concerns, — in prop- 
erty, government, society, and, especially, in domestic 
Mi Ib short, he proposed to encourage, by a system 
of pecuniary bounties, the practice of marriage between 
members of the two races, believing that such ties, once 
formed, would be an inviolable pledge of mutual friend- 
ship, fidelity, and forbearance, and would gradually 
lead to the, transformation of the Indians into a civil- 
i7.ed and Christian people. His bill for this purpose, 
elaborately^ drawn up, was carried through its second 
rfadipg i^i A "engrossed for its final passage," when, by 
[is &uddeu i^moval from the floor of the house to the 



262 PATRICK HENRY. 

governor's chair, the measure was deprived ^ (,, 
conquering champion, and, on the third readii(,c it j^eli a 
sacrifice to the Caucasian rage and scorn of th^^ mem bers. ' 

It is proper to note, also, that during tk^g pi^.riod 
of service in the legislature Patrick Henrv^ murc'.-ed 
straight against public opinion, and jeoparde(^ ]j,"g popu- 
larity, on two or three other subjects. Fojv example, 
the mass of the people of Virginia were then so aagrily 
opposed to the old connection between churc<h and state 
that they occasionally saw danger even Jin projects 
which in no way involved such a connection. This 
was the case with Patrick Henry's necessarfy and most 
innocent measure " for the incorporation of a'll] societies 
of the Christian religion which may appjiy for the ^ 
same"; likewise, his bill for the incorporaftios.* ol the 
clergy of the Episcopal Church ; and, finall|y, luo. more 
questionable and more offensive resolution fcn requiring 
all citizens of the state to contribute to the expea^e of 
supporting some form of religious worship ac ^••'' ■• *>-' 
their own preference. 

Whether, in these several measures, Patvick lioLry 
was right or wrong, one thing, at least, is oibvious ; no 
politician who could thus beard in his very c[.en the lion 
of public opinion, can be accurately des(|;riL 
demagogue. 

With respect to those amazing gifts ofi speech by 
which, in the house of delegates, he thus repeatedly 
swept all opposition out of his way, and made people 
think as he wished them to do, often in the very teeth 
of their own immediate interests or prepo^sessiorsi, an 
amusing instance was mentioned, many r-;"'^ ,^ter- 
ward, by President James Madison. Dur-iig int war 
Virginia had paid her soldiers in certificates fa)' the 



OulltS dt!J 



ME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 263 



amounts at!3® them, to be redeemed in cash at some 
fut^ire ti'ne^' ^° niany cases, the poverty of the soldiers 
hadiud •■ey^ them to sell these certificates, for trifling 



8UI4(18 111 r% 

thus mu 

the pLirpoii 
ness- Mau 
he 



3ady money, to certain speculators, who were 
Jjg a traffic out of the public distress. For 
e of checking this cruel and harmful busi- 
son brought forward a suitable bill, which, as 
toid tW® story, Patrick Henry supported with an 
eloquoncti vf^ irresistible that it was carried through the 
house witl^out an opposing vote; while a notorious 
speculator i^i these very certificates, having listened 
from the »y allery to Patrick Henry's speech, at its con- 
clusion 30 f^-r forgot his own interest in the question as 
to e>; claim — " That bill ought to pass." ^ 

Concerning bis appearance and his manner of speech 

in t!:iose dup> a bit of testimony comes down to us from 

leocer Rpane, who, as he tells us, first "met with 

. s.trick H<3nry in the assembly of 1783." He adds: 

i also then met with R. H. Lee. ... I lodged with 

^"e oar- J' two sessions, and was perfectly acquainted 

vv.th him. ) while I was yet a stranger to Mr. H. 

hese '.vvi.*- gentlemen were the great leaders in the 

' oase of dtjlegates, and were almost constantly opposed. 

atwithstaiSiding my habits of intimacy with Mr. Lee, 

fodnd. myself obliged to vote with P. H. against him 

'83, aLO against Madison in '84, . . . but with sev- 

A iniyor:ant exceptions. I voted against him (P. 

), I recollect, on the subject of the refugees, — he 

(S for permitting their return ; on the subject of a 

oei-al assessment; and the act incorporating the Epis- 

•:>ail Chuich. I voted with him, in general, because he 

s, I tb{;Hght, a more practical statesman than Madi- 

1 Howe, Hist. Coll. Va., 222. 



\ 



264 



PATRICK HENRY. 



son (time has made Madison more practic^^^r, ,"_^..^| ,^ 
less selfish one than Lee. As an orator, ]&,j,. HeiiJry 
demolished Madison with as much ease ^^ Sanifiion 
did the cords that bound him before he vjjyp^j shoDu. 
Mr. Lee held a greater competition. . . . ML, J.-,, i^^as 
a polished gentleman. His person was not "v^ci ^ xro(>d ; 
and he had lost the use of one of his handL. j^m \^ 
manner was perfectly graceful. His langua(, ^3 ^^^ ^\„ 
ways chaste, and although somewhat too niL^iQ^Qj-jous, 
his speeches were always pleasing ; yet hf^^ ^j^^ not 
ravish your senses, nor carry away your juCjiuaieot- by 
storm. . . . Henry was almost always victot-ious. He 
was as much superior to Lee in temper i^^ -;^ elo- 
quence. . . . Mr. Henry was inferior to L, ^ ,., ',.. 
gracefulness of his action, and perhaps ajj 
chasteness of his language; yet his language i,,>~, sci^ 
incorrect, and his address always striking. f^,. \^.^^x 
fine blue eye ; and an earnest manner whi( 
impossible not to attend to him. His speaki 
equal, and always rose with the subject ac 
gency. In this respect, he entirely differed iro'iii ..' 

Mr, Ho« 



•f-.^ 



uing of i 



Lee, who always was equal. At some times 
would seem to hobble, especially in the begin 
speeches ; and, at others, his tones would be jalmost d 
agreeable; yet it was by means of his toni?,g and t" 
happy modulation of his voice, that his speakirfy \m 
haps had its greatest effect. He had a haojjv ;,■ ': 
lation, and a clear, distinct, strong voice ; and ^ 
lable was distinctly uttered. He was very iriussuun 
as to himself, amounting almost to humility, and i^e 
respectful towards his competitor ; the coiisequiSi 
was that no feeling of disgust or animosity w^ 'ir','>^' 
a!?"ainst hiD"<. His eKoriliarus . ■. o' 



AT HOME AND IN HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 265 

hobbling and always unassuming. He knew mankind 
too well to promise much. . . . He was great at a re- 
ply, and greater in proportion to the pressure which 
was bearing upon him. The resources of his mind and 
of his eloquence were equal to any drafts which could 
be made upon them. He took but short notes of what 
fell from his adversaries, and disliked the drudgery of 
composition ; yet it is a mistake to say that he could 
not write well." ^ 

1 MS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SHALL THE CONFEDERATION BE MADE STRONGER? 

We have now arrived at the second period of Patrick 
Henry's service as governor of Virginia, beginning with 
the 30th of November, 1784. For the four or five 
years immediately following that date, the salient facts 
in his career seem to group themselves around the 
story of his relation to that vast national movement 
which ended in an entire reorganization of the Ameri- 
can Republic under a new constitution. Whoever 
will take the trouble to examine the evidence now at 
hand bearing upon the case, can hardly fail to convince 
himself that the true story of Patrick Henry's opposi- 
tion to that great movement has never yet been told. 
Men have usually misconceived, when they have not al- 
together overlooked, the motives for his opposition, the 
spirit in which he conducted it, and the beneficent 
effects which were accomplished by it ; while his ulti- 
mate and firm approval of the new constitution, after it 
had received the chief amendments called for by his 
criticisms, has been passionately described as an ex- 
ample of gross political fickleness and inconsistency, 
instead of being, as it really was, a most logical proced- 
ure on his part, and in perfect harmony with the princi- 
ples underlying his whole public career. 

Before entering on a story so fascinating for the 
light it throws on the man and on the epoch, it is well 



THE CONFEDERATION STRONGER f 267 

that we should stay long enough to glance at what we 
may call the incidental facts in his life, for these four 
or five years now to be looked into. 

Not far from the time of his thus entering once more 
upon the office of governor, occurred the death of his 
aged mother, at the home of his brother-in-law, Colonel 
Samuel Meredith, of Winton, who, in a letter to the 
governor, dated November 22, 1784, speaks tenderly 
of the long illness which had preceded the death of the 
venerable lady, and especially of the strength and beauty 
of her character : " She has been in my family up- 
wards of eleven years ; and from the beginning of that 
time to the end, her life appeared to me most evidently 
to be a continued manifestation of piety and devotion, 
guided by such a great share of good sense as rendered 
her amiable and agreeable to all who were so happy as 
to be acquainted with her. Never have I known a 
Christian character equal to hers." ^ 

On bringing his family to the capital, in November, 
1784, from the far away solitude of Leatherwood, the 
governor established them, not within the city itself, 
but across the James River, at a place called Salisbury. 
What with children and with grandchildren, his family 
had now become a patriarchal one ; and some slight 
glimpse of himself and of his manner of life at that time 
is given us in the memorandum of Spencer Roane. In 
deference to " the ideas attached to the office of gov- 
ernor, as handed down from the royal government," he 
is said to have paid careful attention to his costume and 
personal bearing before the public, never going abroad 
except in black coat, waistcoat, and knee-breeches, in 
scarlet cloak, and in dressed wig. Moreover, his family 
1 MS. 



268 PATRICK HENRY. 

" were furnished with an excellent coach, at a time 
when these vehicles were not so common as at present. 
They lived as genteelly, and associated with as polished 
society, as that of any governor before or since has ever 
done. He entertained as much company as others, and 
in as genteel a style ; and when, at the end of two 
years, he resigned the office, he had greatly exceeded 
the salary, and [was] in debt, which was one cause that 
induced him to resume the practice of the law." ^ 

Daring his two years in the governorship, his duties 
concerned matters of much local importance, indeed, 
but of no particular interest at present. To this re- 
mark one exception may be found in some passages 
of friendly correspondence between the governor and 
Washington, — the latter then enjoying the long-coveted 
repose of Mt. Vernon. In January, 1785, the assembly 
of Virginia vested in Washington certain shares in 
two companies, just then formed, for opening and ex- 
tending the navigation of the James and Potomac 
rivers.^ In response to Governor Henry's letter com- 
municating this act, Washington wrote on the 27th of 
February, stating his doubts about accepting such a 
gratuity, but at the same time asking the governor 
as a friend to assist him in the matter by his advice. 
Governor Henry's reply is of interest to us, not only 
for its allusion to his own domestic anxieties at the 
time, but for its revelation of the frank and cordial rela- 
tions between the two men : — 

" Richmond, March 12ih, 1785. 
" Dear Sir, — The honor you are pleased to do me, 
in your favor of the 27th ultimo, in which you desire my 
^ MS. 2 Hening, xi. 525-526. 



THE CONFEDERATION STRONGER f 269 

opinion in a friendly way concerning the act enclosed 
you lately, is very flattering to me. I did not receive 
the letter till Thursday, and since that my family has 
been very sickly. My oldest grandson, a fine boy in- 
deed, about nine years old, lays at the point of death. 
Under this state of uneasiness and perturbation, I feel 
some unfitness to consider a subject of so delicate a na- 
ture as that you have desired my thoughts on. Besides, 
I have some expectation of a conveyance more proper, 
it may be, than the present, when I would wish to send 
you some packets received from Ireland, which I fear 
the post cannot carry at once. If he does not take them 
free, I shan't send them, for they are heavy. Captain 
Boyle, who had them from Sir Edward Newenham, 
wishes for the honor of a line from you, which I have 
promised to forward to him. 

" I will give you the trouble of bearing from me next 
post, if no opportunity presents sooner, and, in the mean 
time, I beg you to be persuaded that, with the most 
sincere attachment, I am, dear ,sir, your most obedient 
servant, 

"General Washington." " ^' Henry. 

The promise contained in this letter was fulfilled on 
the 19th of the same month, when the governor wrote 
to Washington a long and careful statement of the 
whole case, urging him to accept the shares, and clos- 
ing his letter with an assurance of his *' unalterable 
affection " and " most sincere attachment," ^ — a sub- 
scription not common among public men at that time. 

1 MS. 

2 Sparks, Corr. Rev., iv. 93-96. See, also, Washington's letter to 
Henry, for Nov. 30, 1785, in Writings of W. xii. 277-278. 



27'0 PATRICK HENRY. 

On the 30th of November, 1786, having declmed to 
be put in nomination for a third year, as permitted by 
the constitution, he finally retired from the office of 
governor. The house of delegates, about the same 
time, by unanimous vote, crowned him with the public 
thanks, " for his wise, prudent, and upright administra- 
tion, during his last appointment of chief magistrate of 
this commonwealth ; assuring him that they retain a 
perfect sense of his abilities in the discharge of the du- 
ties of that high and important office, and wish him all 
domestic happiness on his return to private life." ^ 

This return to private life meant, among other things, 
his return, after an interruption of more than twelve 
years, to the practice of the law. For this purpose he 
deemed it best to give up his remote home at Leather- 
wood, and to establish himself in Prince Edward 
County — a place about midway between his former 
residence and the capital, and much better suited to his 
convenience, as an active practitioner in the courts. Ac- 
cordingly, in Prince Edward County he continued to 
reside from the latter part of 1786 until 1795. Further- 
more, by that county he was soon elected as one of its 
delegates in the assembly ; and resuming there his old 
position of leader, he continued to serve in every 
session until the end of 1790, at which time he finally 
withdrew from all official connection with public life- 
Thus it happened that, by his retirement from the gov- 
ernorship in 1786, and by his almost immediate restora- 
tion to the house of delegates, he was put into a situa- 
tion to act most aggressively and most powerfully on 
public opinion in Virginia during the whole period of 
the struggle over the new constitution. 

1 Jour. Va. House Del. for Nov. 25, 1786. 



THE CONFEDERATION STRONGER? 271 

As regards his attitude toward that great business, 
we need, first of all, to clear away some obscurity which 
has gathered about the question of his habitual views 
respecting the relations of the several states to the gen- 
eral government. It has been common to suppose that, 
even prior to the movement for the new constitution, 
Patrick Henry had always been an extreme advocate 
of the rights of the states as opposed to the central au- 
thority of the union ; and that the tremendous resist- 
ance which he made to the new constitution in all stages 
of the affair prior to the adoption of the first group of 
amendments, is to be accounted for as the effect of an 
original and habitual tendency of his mind.-^ I Such, 
however, seems not to have been the case. 

In general, it may be said that at the very outset of 
the revolution, Patrick Henry was one of the first of 
our statesmen to recognize the existence and the im- 
perial character of a certain cohesive central authority, 
arising from the very nature of the revolutionary act 
which the several colonies were then taking. As early 
as 1774, in the first continental congress, it was he 
who exclaimed : " All distinctions are thrown down. 
All America is thrown into one mass." " The distinc- 
tions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New York- 
ers, and New Englanders, are no more. I am not a 
Virginian, but an American." In the spring of 177G, 
at the approach of the question of independence, it was 
he who even incurred reproach by his anxiety to defer 
independence until after the basis for a general govern- 
ment should have been established, lest the several 
states, in separating from England, should lapse into a 
separation from one another also. As governor of Vir- 
1 For example, Curtis, Hist. Const., ii. 553-554. 



272 PATRICK HENRY. 

giuia from 1776 to 1779, his official correspondence 
with the president of congress, with the board of war, 
and with the general of the army, is pervaded by proofs 
of his respect for the supreme authority of the general 
government within its proper sphere. Finally, as a 
leader in the Virginia house of delegates from 1780 to 
1784, he was in the main a supporter of the policy of 
giving more strength and dignity to the general gov- 
ernment. During all that period, according to the ad- 
mission of his most unfriendly modern critic, Patrick 
Henry showed himself " much more disposed to sustain 
and strengthen the federal authority " than did, for 
example, his great rival in the house, Richard Henry 
Lee; and for the time, those two great men became 
" the living and active exponents of two adverse polit- 
ical systems in both state and national questions." ^ In 
1784, by which time the weakness of the general gov- 
ernment had become alarming, Patrick Henry was 
among the foremost in Virginia to express alarm, and 
to propose the only appropriate remedy. For example, 
on the assembling of the legislature, in May of that 
year, he took pains to seek an early interview with two 
of his prominent associates in the house of delegates, 
Madison and Jones, for the express purpose of devising 
with them some method of giving greater strength to 
the confederation. "I find him," wrote Madison to 
Jefferson, immediately after the interview, " strenuous 
for invigorating the federal government, though without 
any precise plan."^ A more detailed account of the 
same interview was sent to Jefferson by another cor- 
respondent. According to the latter, Patrick Henry 

1 Rives, Life of Madison^ i. 536-537. 

2 Madison, Letters, etc., i. 80. 



THE CONFEDERATION STRONGERf 273 

then declared that " he saw ruin inevitable, unless some 
thing was done to give congress a compulsory process 
on delinquent states ; " that " a bold example set by- 
Virginia " in that direction " would have influence on 
the other states ; " and that " this conviction was his 
only inducement for coming into the present assembly." 
Whereupon, it was then agreed between them that 
" Jones and Madison should sketch some plan for giv- 
ing greater power to the federal government ; and 
Henry promised to sustain it on the floor." ^ Finally, 
such was the impression produced by Patrick Henry's 
political conduct during all those years that, as late as 
in December, 1786, Madison could speak of him as hav- 
ing "been hitherto the champion of the federal cause." ^ 

Not far, however, from the date last mentioned Pat- 
rick Henry ceased to be " the champion of the federal 
cause," and became its chief antagonist, and so remained 
until some time during Washington's first term in the 
presidency. What brought about this sudden and total 
revolution ? It can be explained only by the discovery 
of some new influence which came into his life between 
1784 and 1786, and which was powerful enough to re- 
verse entirely the habitual direction of his political 
thought and conduct. Just what that influence was can 
now be easily shown. 

On the 3d of August, 1786, John Jay, as secretary 
for foreign affairs, presented to congress some results 
of his negotiations with the Spanish envoy, Gardoqui, 
respecting a treaty with Spain ; and he then urged 
that congress, in view of certain vast advantages to our 
foreign commerce, should consent to surrender the navi- 

1 Bancroft, Hist. Const., i. 162. 

2 Madison, Letters, etc., i. 26'4. 



274 PATRICK HENRY. 

gation of the Mississippi for twenty-five or thirty years,^ 
— a proposal which, very naturally, seemed to the six 
southern states as nothing less than a cool invitation to 
thena to sacrifice their own most important interests for 
the next quarter of a century, in order to build up dur- 
ing that period the interests of the seven states of the 
north. The revelation of this project, and of the ability 
of the northern states to force it through, sent a shock 
of alarm and of distrust into every southern community. 
Moreover, full details of these transactions in congress 
were promptly conveyed to Governor Henry by James 
Monroe, who added this pungent item, — that a secret 
project was then under the serious consideration of 
" committees " of northern men, for a dismemberment 
of the union, and for setting the southern states adrift, 
after having thus bartered away from them the use of 
the Mississippi.^ 

On the same day that Monroe was writing from New 
York that letter to Governor Henry, Madison was writ- 
ing from Philadelphia a letter to Jefferson. Having 
mentioned a plan for strengthening the confederation, 
Madison says : " Though my wishes are in favor of 
such an event, yet I despair so much of its accomplish- 
ment at the present crisis, that I do not extend my 
views beyond a commercial reform. To speak the 
truth, I almost despair even of this. You will find the 
cause in a measure now before congress, ... a pro- 
posed treaty with Spain, one article of which shuts 
the Mississippi for twenty or thirty years. Passing by 
the other southern states, figure to yourself the effect of 
such a stipulation on the assembly of Virginia, already 

1 Secret Jour. Cong., iv. 44-63. 

2 Rives, Life of Madison, ii. 122. 



TEE CONFEDERATION STRONGER? 275 

jealous of northern politics, and which will be com- 
posed of thirty members from the western waters, — of 
a majority of others attached to the western country 
from interests of their own, of their friends, or their 
constituents. . . . Figure to yourself its effect on the 
people at large on the western waters, who are impa- 
tiently waiting for a favorable result to the negotiation 
with Gardoqui, and who will consider themselves sold 
by their Atlantic brethren. Will it be an unnatural 
consequence if they consider themselves absolved from 
every federal tie, and court some protection for their 
betrayed rights ? " ^ 

How truly Madison predicted the fatal construction 
which, in the south, and particularly in Virginia, would 
be put upon the proposed surrender of the Mississippi, 
may be seen by a glance at some of the resolutions 
which passed the Virginia house of delegates, on the 
29th of the following November : — 

" That the common right of navigating the river 
Mississippi, and of communicating with other nations 
through that channel, ought to be considered as the 
bountiful gift of nature to the United States, as pro- 
prietors of the territories watered by the said river and 
its eastern branches, and as moreover secured to them 
by the late revolution. 

" That the confederacy, having been formed on the 
broad basis of equal rights, in every part thereof, to the 
protection and guardianship of the whole, a sacrifice of 
the rights of any one part, to the supposed or real in- 
terest of another part, would be a flagrant violation of 
justice, a direct contravention of the end for which the 
1 Rives, Life of Madison, ii. 119-120. 



276 PATRICK HENRY. 

federal government was instituted, and an alarming in- 
novation in the system of the union." ^ 

One day after the passage of those resolutions, Pat- 
rick Henry ceased to be the governor of Virginia ; and 
five days afterward he was chosen by Virginia as one 
of its seven delegates to a convention to be held at 
Philadelphia in the following May, for the purpose of 
revising the federal constitution. But amid the wide- 
spread excitement, amid the anger and the suspicion 
then prevailing, as to the liability of the southern states, 
even under a weak confederation, to be slaughtered, 
in all their most important concerns, by the superior 
weight and number of the northern states, it is easy to 
see how little inclined many southern statesmen would 
be to increase that liability by making this weak con- 
federation a strong one. In the list of such southern 
statesmen, Patrick Henry must henceforth be reckoned ; 
and as it was never his nature to do anything tepidly or 
by halves, his hostility to the project for strengthening 
the confederation soon became as hot as it was compre- 
hensive. On the 7th of December, only three days 
after he was chosen as a delegate to the Philadelphia 
convention, Madison, then at Richmond, wrote concern- 
ing him thus anxiously to Washington : " I am en- 
tirely convinced from what I observe here, that unless 
the project of congress can be reversed, the hopes of 
carrying this state into a proper federal system will be 
demolished. Many of our most federal leading men are 
extremely soured with what has already passed. Mr. 
Henry, who has been hitherto the champion of the 
federal cause, has become a cold advocate, and in the 
event of an actual sacrifice of the Mississippi by con- 
1 Jour. Va. House Del, 66-67. 



THE CONFEDERATION STRONGER? 277 

gress, will unquestionably go over to the opposite 
side." ^ 

But in spite of this change in his attitude toward the 
federal cause, perhaps he would still go to the great 
convention. On that subject he appears to have kept 
his own counsel for several weeks ; but by the 1st of 
March, 1787, Edmund Randolph, at Richmond, was 
able to send this word to Madison, who was back in his 
place in congress : " Mr. Henry peremptorily refuses to 
go ; " and Randolph mentions as Henry's reasons for 
this refusal, not only his urgent professional duties, but 
his repugnance to the proceedings of congress in the 
matter of the Mississippi.^ Five days later, from the 
same city, John Marshall wrote to Arthur Lee : " Mr. 
Henry, whose opinions have their usual influence, has 
been heard to say that he would rather part with the 
confederation than relinquish the navigation of the 
Mississippi." ^ On the 18th of the same month, in a 
letter to Washington, Madison poured out his solicitude, 
respecting the course which Henry was going to take : 
*' I hear from Richmond, with much concern, that Mr. 
Henry has positively declined his mission to Philadelphia. 
Besides the loss of his services on that theatre, there is 
danger, I fear, that this step has proceeded from a wish 
to leave his conduct unfettered on another theatre, 
where the result of the convention will receive its 
destiny from his omnipotence." ^ On the next day, 
Madison sent off to Jefferson, who was then in Paris, 
an account of the situation: " But although it appears 

1 Madison, Letters, etc., i. 264. 

2 Rives, Life of Madison, ii. 238-239. 

3 R. H. Lee, Life of A. Lee, ii. 321. 

4 Sparks, Corr, Rev., iv. 168. 



278 PATRICK HENRY. 

that the intended sacrifice of the Mississippi will not be 
made, the consequences of the intention and the attempt 
are likely to be very serious. I have already made 
known to you the light in which the subject was taken 
up by Virginia. Mr. Henry's disgust exceeds all meas- 
ure, and I am not singular in ascribing his refusal to at- 
tend the convention, to the policy of keeping himself 
free to combat or espouse the result of it according to 
the result of the Mississippi business, among other 
circumstances." ^ 

Finally, on the 25th of March, Madison wrote to 
Eandolph, evidently in reply to the information given 
by the latter on the 1st of the month : " The refusal of 
Mr. Henry to join in the task of revising the confedera- 
tion is ominous ; and the more so, I fear, if he means to 
be governed by the event which you conjecture." ^ 

That Patrick Henry did not attend the great conven- 
tion, everybody knows ; but the whole meaning of his 
refusal to do so, everybody may now understand some- 
what more clearly, perhaps, than before. 

1 Madison Papers, ii. 623. 2 ibid. 627. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE BATTLE IN VIRGINIA OVER THE NEW CONSTITU- 
TION. 

The great convention at Philadelphia, after a ses- 
sion of four months, came to the end of its noble labors 
on the 17th of September, 1787. Washington, who 
had been not merely its presiding officer but its presid- 
ing genius, then hastened back to Mt. Vernon, and in 
his great anxiety to win over to the new constitution 
the support of his old friend, Patrick Henry, he im- 
mediately dispatched to him a copy of that instrument, 
accompanied by a very impressive and conciliatory let- 
ter,^ to which, about three weeks afterwards, was re- 
turned the following reply : — 

"Richmond, Octobei^ 19, 1787. 

" Dear Sir, — I was honored by the receipt of your 
favor together with a copy of the proposed federal con- 
stitution, a few days ago, for which I beg you to ac- 
cept my thanks. They are also due to you from me as 
a citizen, on account of the great fatigue necessarily 
attending the arduous business of the late convention. 

" I have to lament that I cannot bring my mind to 
accord with the proposed constitution. The concern I 
feel on this account is really greater than I am able to 
express. Perhaps mature reflections may furnish me 
with reasons to change my present sentiments into a 
1 Writings of Washi7igton, ix. 265-266. 



280 PATRICK HENRY. 

conformity with the opinions of those personages for 
whom I have the highest reverence. Be that as it may, 
I beg you will be persuaded of the unalterable regard 
and attachment with which I shall be, 

" Dear Sir, Your obliged and very humble servant 

" P. Henry.^ 

Four days before the date of this letter the legis- 
lature of Virginia had convened at Richmond for its 
autumn session, and Patrick Henry had there taken 
his usual place on the most important committees, and 
as the virtual director of the thought and work of the 
house. Much solicitude was felt concerning the course 
which he might advise the legislature to adopt on the 
supreme question then before the country, — some per- 
sons even fearing that he might try to defeat the new 
constitution in Virginia, by simply preventing the call 
of a state convention. Great was Washington's sat- 
isfaction on receiving from one of his correspondents 
in the assembly, shortly after the session began, this 
cheerful report : " I have not met with one in all my in- 
quiries (and I have made them with great diligence) op- 
posed to it, except Mr. Henry, who I have heard is so, 
but could only conjecture it from a conversation with 
bim on the subject. . . . The transmissory note of con- 
gress was before us to-day, when Mr. Henry declared 
that it transcended our powers to decide on the con- 
stitution, and that it must go before a convention. As 
it was insinuated he would aim at preventing this, much 
pleasure was discovered at the declaration." ^ 

On the 24th of October, from his place in congress, 
Madison sent over to Jefferson, in Paris, a full account 
1 MS. 2 Writings of Washington, ix. 273. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 281 

of the results of the Philadelphia convention, and of 
the public feeling with reference to its work : " My in- 
formation from Virginia is as yet extremely imperfect. 
. . . The part which Mr. Henry will take is unknown 
here. Much will depend on it. I had taken it for 
granted, from a variety of circumstances, that he would 
be in the opposition, and still think that will be the 
case. There are reports, however, which favor a con- 
trary supposition." ^ But, by the 9th of December, 
Madison was able to send to Jefferson a further report, 
which indicated that all doubt respecting the hostile 
attitude of Patrick Henry was then removed. After 
mentioning that a majority of the people of Virginia 
seemed to be in favor of the constitution, he added: 
" What change may be produced by the united influence 
and exertions of Mr. Henry, Mr. Mason, and the gover- 
nor, with some pretty able auxiliaries, is uncertain. . . . 
Mr. Henry is the great adversary who will render the 
event precarious. He is, I find, with his usual address, 
working up every possible interest into a spirit of op- 
position." ^ 

Long before tlie date last mentioned, the legislature 
had regularly declared for a state convention, to be held 
at Richmond on the first Monday in June, 1788, then 
and there to determine whether or not Virginia would 
accept the new constitution. In view of that event, 
delegates were in the mean time to be chosen by the 
people ; and thus, for the intervening months, the fight 
was to be transferred to the arena of popular debate. 
In such a contest Patrick Henry, being once aroused, 
was not likely to take a languid or a hesitating part ; 

1 Madison, Letters, etc., i. 356. 

2 Ibid. i. 364-365. 



282 PATRICK HENRY. 

and of the importance then attached to the part which 
he did take, we catch frequent glimpses in the cor- 
respondence of the period. Thus, on the 19th of Feb- 
ruary, 1788, Madison, still at New York, sent this word 
to Jefferson : " The temper of Virginia, as far as I can 
learn, has undergone but little change of late. At first, 
there was an enthusiasm for the constitution. The tide 
next took a sudden and strong turn in the opposite di- 
rection. The influence and exertions of Mr. Henry, 
Colonel Mason, and some others, will account for this. 
... I am told that a very bold language is held by 
Mr. Henry and some of his partisans."^ On the 10th of 
April, Madison, then returned to his home in Virginia, 
wrote to Edmund Randolph : " The declaration of 
Henry, mentioned in your letter, is a proof to me that 
desperate measures will be his game." ^ On the 22d of 
the same month, Madison wrote to Jefferson : " The 
adversaries take very different grounds of opposition. 
Some are opposed to the substance of the plan ; others, 
to particular modifications only. Mr. Henry is sup- 
posed to aim at disunion."^ On the 24th of April, Ed- 
ward Carrington, writing from New York, told Jeffer- 
son : " Mr. H. does not openly declare for a dismember- 
ment of the union, bat his arguments in support of his 
opposition to the constitution go directly to that issue. 
He says that three confederacies would be practicable, 
and better suited to the good of commerce than one." * 
On the 28th of April, Washington wrote to Lafayette 
an account of the struggle then going forward ; and 
after naming some of the leading champions of the con- 
stitution, he adds, sorrowfully : " Henry and Mason are 

1 Madison, Letters, etc., i. 378. 2 ibid. i. 387. 

3 Ibid. i. 388. ^ Bancroft, Hist. Const., ii. 465. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 283 

its great adversaries." ^ Finally, as late as on the 12th 
of June, the Reverend John Blair Smith, at that time 
president of Hampden - Sidney College, conveyed to 
Madison, an old college-friend, his own deep disap- 
proval of the course which had been pursued by Patrick 
Henry in the management of the can-^ iss against the 
constitution : " Before the constitution appeared, the 
minds of the people were artfully prepared against it; 
so that all opposition [to Mr. Henry] at the election 
of delegates to consider it, was in vain. That gentle- 
man has descended to lower artifices and management 
on the occasion than I thought him capable of. . . . If 
Mr. Innes has shown you a speech of Mr. Henry to his 
constituents, which I sent him, you will see something 
of the method he has taken to diffuse his poison. . . . 
It grieves me to see such great natural talents abused 
to such purposes." ^ 

On Monday, the 2d of June, 1788, the long-expected 
convention assembled at Richmond. So great was the 
public interest in the event, that a full delegation was 
present, even on the first day ; and in order to make room 
for the throngs of citizens from all parts of Virginia 
and from other states, who had flocked thither to 
witness the impending battle, it was decided that the 
convention should hold its meetings in the New Acad- 
emy, on Shockoe Hill, the largest assembly-room in the 
city. 

Eight states had already adopted the constitution. 
The five states which had yet to act upon the question 
were New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, North 
Carolina, and Virginia. For every reason, the course 

1 Writings of Washington, ix. 356. 

2 Rives, Life of Madison, ii. 544, note. 



284 PATRICK HENRY. 

then to be taken by Virginia would have great conse- 
quences. Moreover, since the days of the struggle over 
indepeudence, no question had so profoundly moved the 
people of Virginia; none had aroused such hopes and 
such fears, none had so absorbed the thoughts, or so 
embittered the relations, of men. It is not strange* 
therefore, that this convention, consisting of one hun- 
dred and seventy members, should have been thought 
to represent, to an unusual degree, the intelligence, the 
character, the experience, the reputation, of the state. 
Perhaps it would be true to say that, excepting Wash- 
ington, Jefferson, and Richard Henry Lee, no Virginian 
of eminence was absent from it. 

Furthermore, the line of division, which from the out- 
set parted into two hostile sections these one hundred 
and seventy Virginians, was something quite unparal- 
leled. In other states it had been noted that the con- 
servative classes, the men of education and of property, 
of high office, of high social and professional standing, 
were nearly all on the side of the new constitution. 
Such was not the case in Virginia. Of the conservative 
classes throughout that state, quite as many were 
against the new constitution as were in favor of it. Of 
the four distinguished citizens who had been its gov- 
ernors, since Virginia had assumed the right to elect 
governors, — Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Nelson, and 
Harrison, — each in turn had denounced the measure 
as unsatisfactory and dangerous ; while Edmund Ran- 
dolph, the governor then in office, having attended the 
great convention at Philadelphia, and having there re- 
fused to sign the constitution, had published an impres- 
sive statement of his objections to it, and, for several 
months thereafter, had been counted among its most 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION, 285 

formidable opponents. Concerning the attitude of the 
legal profession, — a profession always inclined to con- 
servatism, — Madison had written to Jefferson, " The 
general and admiralty courts, with most of the bar, op- 
pose the constitution." ^ Finally, among Virginians 
who were at that time particularly honored and trusted 
for patriotic services during the revolution, such men 
as these, Theodoric Bland, William Grayson, John 
Tyler, Meriwether Smith, James Monroe, George Ma- 
son, and Richard Henry Lee, had declared their disap- 
proval of the document. 

Nevertheless, within the convention itself, at the 
opening of the session, it was claimed by the friends of 
the new government, that they then outnumbered their 
opponents by at least fifty votes.^ Their great cham- 
pion in debate was James Madison, who was powerfully 
assisted, first or last, by Edmund Pendleton, John Mar- 
shall, George Nicholas, Francis Corbin, George Wythe, 
James Innes, General Henry Lee, and especially by 
that same Governor Randolph who, after denouncing 
the constitution for " features so odious " that he could 
not " agree to it," ^ had finally swung completely around 
to its support. 

Against all this array of genius, learning, character, 
logical acumen, and eloquence, Patrick Henry held the 
field as protagonist for twenty-three days, — his chief 
lieutenants in the fight being Mason, Grayson, and 
John Dawson, with occasional help from Harrison, Mon- 
roe, and Tyler. Upon him, alone, fell the brunt of the 
battle. Out of the twenty-three days of that splendid 

1 Rives, Life of Madison, ii. 5-41. 

2 Hist. Mag. for 1873, 274. 

8 Elliott, Debates, i. 491; v. 502, 534-535. 



286 PATRICK HENRY. 

tourney, there were but five days in which he did not 
take the floor. On each of several days, he made three 
speeches ; on one day, he made five speeches ; on an- 
other day, eight. In one speech alone, he was on his 
legs for seven hours. The words of all who had any 
share in that debate were taken down, according to the 
imperfect art of the time, by the stenographer, David 
Robertson, whose reports, however, are said to be little 
more than a pretty full outline of the speeches actually 
made : but in the volume which contains these abstracts, 
one of Patrick Henry's speeches fills eight pages, an- 
other ten pages, another sixteen, another twenty-one, 
another forty ; while, in the aggregate, his speeches 
constitute nearly one quarter of the entire book, — a 
book of six hundred and sixty-three pages.^ 

Any one who has fallen under the impression, so in- 
dustriously propagated by the ingenious enmity of Jef- 
ferson's old age, that Patrick Henry was a man of 
but meagre information and of extremely slender in- 
tellectual resources, ignorant especially of law, of polit- 
ical science, and of history, totally lacking in logical 
power and in precision of statement, with nothing to 
offset these deficiencies excepting a strange gift of over- 
powering, dithyrambic eloquence, will find it hard, as 
he turns over the leaves on which are recorded the de- 
bates of the Virginia convention, to understand just 
how such a person could have made the speeches which 
are there attributed to Patrick Henry, or how a mere 
rhapsodist could have thus held his ground, in close 
hand-to-hand combat, for twenty -three days, against 
such antagonists, on all the difficult subjects of law, 
political science, and history, involved in the constitu- 
1 Elliott, Debates, iii. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 287 

tion of the United States, — while showing, at the same 
time, every quality of good generalship as a tactitian 
and as a party-leader. " There has been, I am aware," 
says an eminent historian of the constitution, " a mod- 
ern scepticism concerning Patrick Henry's abilities ; 
but I cannot share it. . . . The manner in which he 
carried on the opposition to the constitution in the con- 
vention of Virginia, for nearly a whole month, shows 
that he possessed other powers besides those of great 
natural eloquence." ^ 

But, now, what were Patrick Henry's objections to 
the new constitution ? 

First of all, let it be noted that his objections did not 
spring from any hostility to the union of the thirteen 
states, or from any preference for a separate union of 
the southern states. Undoubtedly, there had been a 
time, especially under the provocations connected with 
the Mississippi business, when he and many other south- 
ern statesmen sincerely thought that there might be no 
security for their interests even under the confederation, 
and that this lack of security would be even more glar- 
ing and disastrous under the new constitution. Such, 
for example, seems to have been the opinion of Gov- 
ernor Benjamin Harrison, as late as October the 4th, 
1787, on which date, he thus wrote to Washington : "I 
cannot divest myself of an opinion that ... if the con- 
stitution is carried into effect, the states south of the 
Potomac will be little more than appendages to those 
to the northward of it." ^ It is very probable that this 
sentence accurately reflects, likewise, Patrick Henry's 
mood of thought at that time. Nevertheless, whatever 

1 Curtis, Hist. Const., ii. 561, note. 

2 Writings of Washington, ix. 266, note. 



288 PATRICK HENRY. 

may have been his thought under the sectional suspi- 
cions and alarms of the preceding months, it is certain 
that, at the date of the Virginia convention, he had 
come to see that the thirteen states must, by all means, 
try to keep together. " I am persuaded," said he, in 
reply to Randolph, " of what the honorable gentleman 
says, * that separate confederacies will ruin us.' " " Sir," 
he exclaimed on another occasion, " the dissolution of 
the union is most abhorrent to my mind. The first 
thing I have at heart is American liberty ; the second 
thing is American union." Again he protested: "I 
mean not to breathe the spirit, nor utter the language, 
of secession." ^ 

In the second place, he admitted that there were 
great defects in the old confederation, and that those 
defects ought to be cured by proper amendments, 
particularly in the direction of greater strength to the 
federal government. But did the proposed constitu- 
tion embody such amendments? On the contrary, that 
constitution, instead of properly amending the old con- 
federation, simply annihilated it, and replaced it by 
something radically different, and radically dangerous. 
" The federal convention ought to have amended the 
old system ; for this purpose they were solely dele- 
gated ; the object of their mission extended to no other 
consideration." " The distinction between a national 
government and a confederacy is not sufficiently dis- 
cerned. Had the delegates who were sent to Phila- 
delphia a power to propose a consolidated government, 
instead of a confederacy ? " " Here is a resolution as 
radical as that which separated us from Great Britain. 
It is radical in this transition ; our rights and privileges 
1 Elliott, Debates, iii. 161, 57, 63. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 289 

are endangered, and the sovereignty of the states will 
e relinquished : and cannot we plainly see that this is 
actually the case? The rights of conscience, trial by 
jury, liberty of the press, all your immunities and fran- 
chises, all pretensions to human rights and privileges, 
are rendered insecure, if not lost, by this change, so 
loudly talked of by some, so inconsiderately by others." 
" A number of characters, of the greatest eminence in 
this country, object to this government for its consoli- 
dating tendency. This is not imaginary. It is a formi- 
dable reality. If consolidation proves to be as mis- 
chievous to this country as it has been to other coun- 
tries, what will the poor inhabitants of this country do ? 
This government will operate like an ambuscade. It 
will destroy the state governments, and swallow the 
liberties of the people, without giving previous notice. 
If gentlemen are willing to run the hazard, let them 
run it ; but I shall exculpate myself by my opposition 
and monitory warnings within these walls." ^ 

But, in the third place, besides transforming the old 
confederacy into a centralized and densely consolidated 
government, and clothing that government with enor- 
mous powers over states and over individuals, what had 
this new constitution provided for the protection of 
states and of individuals ? Almost nothing. It had 
created a new and a tremendous power over us : it had 
failed to cover us with any shield, or to interpose any 
barrier, by which, in case of need, we might save our- 
selves from the wanton and fatal exercise of that power. 
In short, the new constitution had no bill of rights. 
But " a bill of rights," he declared, is " indispensably 
necessary." " A general positive provision should be 
1 Elliott, Debates, iii. 23, 52, 44, 156. 



290 PATRICK HENRY. 

inserted in the new system, securing to the states and 
the people every right which was not conceded to the 
general government." " I trust that gentlemen, on this 
occasion, will see the great objects of religion, liberty of 
the press, trial by jury, interdiction of cruel punishments, 
and every other sacred right, secured, before they agree 
to that paper." " Mr. Chairman, the necessity of a bill 
of rights appears to me to be greater in this government 
than ever it was in any government before. I have 
observed already that the sense of European nations, 
and particularly Great Britain, is against the construc- 
tion of rights being retained which are not expressly re- 
linquished. I repeat, that all nations have adopted the 
construction, that all rights not expressly and unequiv- 
ocally reserved to the people, are impliedly and inci- 
dentally relinquished to rulers, as necessarily inseparable 
from delegated powers. . . . Let us consider the senti- 
ments which have been entertained by the people of 
America on this subject. At the revolution, it must be 
admitted that it was their sense to set down those great 
rights which ought, in all countries, to be held invio- 
lable and sacred. Virginia did so, we all remember. 
She made a compact to reserve, expressly, certain 
rights. . . . She most cautiously and guardedly reserved 
and secured those invaluable, inestimable rights and 
privileges, which no people, inspired with the least glow 
of patriotic liberty, ever did, or ever can, abandon. She 
is called upon now to abandon them, and dissolve that 
compact which secured them to her. . . . Will she do 
it ? This is the question. If you intend to reserve 
your unalienable rights, you must have the most ex- 
press stipulation ; for, if implication be allowed, you 
are ousted of those rights. If the people do not think 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 291 

it necessary to reserve them, they will be supposed to 
be given up. ... If you give up these powers, with- 
out a bill of rights, you will exhibit the most absurd 
thing to mankind that ever the world saw, — a govern- 
ment that has abandoned all its powers — the powers 
of direct taxation, the sword, and the purse. You have 
disposed of them to congress, without a bill of rights, 
without check, limitation, or control. And still you 
have checks and guards ; still you keep barriers — 
pointed where? Pointed against your weakened, pros- 
trated, enervated, state government ! You have a bill 
of rights to defend you against the state government — 
which is bereaved of all power, and yet you have none 
against congress — though in full and exclusive posses- 
sion of all power. You arm yourselves against the 
weak and defenceless, and expose yourselves naked to 
the armed and powerful. Is not this a conduct of un- 
exampl'^he^bsurdity ? " ^ 

Ag8s sbind again, in response to his demand for an 
express assertion, in the instrument itself, of the 
rights of individuals and of states, he was told that 
every one of those rights was secured, since it was nat- 
urally and fairly implied. " Even say," he rejoined, 
** it is a natural implication, — why not give us a 
right ... in express terms, in language that could not 
admit of evasions or subterfuges ? If they can use im- 
plication for us, they can also use implication against 
us. We are giving power ; they are getting power ; 
judge, then, on which side the implication will be used." 
" Implication is dangerous, because it is unbounded ; if 
it be admitted at all, and no limits prescribed, it admits 
of the utmost extension." "The existence of powers 
1 EUiott, Debates, iii. 150, 462, 445-446. 



292 PATRICK HENRY. 

is sufficiently established. If we trust our dearest 
rights to implication, we shall be in a very unhappy 
situation." ^ 

Then, in addition to his objections to the general 
character of the constitution, namely, as a consolidated 
government, unrestrained by an express guarantee of 
rights, he applied his criticisms in great detail, and 
with merciless rigor, to each department of the pro- 
posed government, — the legislative, the executive, and 
the judicial; and with respect to each one of these, he 
insisted that its intended functions were such as to in- 
spire distrust and alarm. Of course, we cannot here 
follow this fierce critic of the constitution into all the 
detail of his criticisms ; but, as a single example, we 
may cite a portion of his assault upon the executive de- 
partment, — an assault, as will be seen, far better 
suited to the political apprehensions of his own time 
than of ours: "The constitution is s& , have 

beautiful features; but when I come to exi* , . these 
features, sir, they appear to me horribl;y frightful. 
Among other deformities, it has an awful squinting ; 
it squints towards monarchy, j And does not this raise 
indignation in the breast of every true American? 
Your president may easily become king. . . . Where 
are your checks in this government? Your strong- 
holds will be in the hands of your enemies. It is on 
a supposition that your American governors shall be 
honest, that all the good qualities of this government 
are founded ; but its defective and imperfect construc- 
tion puts it in their power to perpetrate the worst of 
mischiefs, should they be bad men. And, sir, would 
not all the world, from the eastern to the western hem- 
1 Elliott, Debates, iii. 149-150. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 293 

ispheres, blame our distracted follj in resting our rights 
upon the contingency of our rulers being good or bad ? 
Show me that age and country where the rights and 
liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance 
of their rulers being good men, without a consequent 
loss of liberty. ... If your American chief be a man 
of ambition and abilities, how easy is it for him to 
render himself absolute ! The army is in his hands ; 
and if he be a man of address, it will be attached to 
him, and it will be the subject of long meditation with 
him to seize the first auspicious moment to accomplish 
his design. And, sir, will the American spirit solely 
relieve you when this happens. I would rather infi- 
nitely — and I am sure most of this convention are/^of 
the same opinion — have a king, lords, and common^ 
than a government so replete with such insupportable 
evils. If we make a king, we may prescribe the rules 
by which he shall rule his people, and interpose such 
checks as shall prevent him from infringing them ; but 
the president, in the field, at the head of his army, can 
prescribe the terras on which he shall reign master, so 
far that it will puzzle any American ever to get his 
neck from under the galling yoke. . . . "Will not the 
recollection of his crimes teach him to make one bold 
push for the American throne ? Will not the immense 
difference between being master of everything, and 
being ignominiously tried and punished, powerfully 
excite him to make this bold push? But, sir, where is 
the existing force to punish him ? Can he not, at the 
head of his army, beat down every opposition ? Away 
with your president ! we shall have a king. The army 
will salute him monarch. Your militia will leave you, 
and assist in making him king, and fight against you. 



29 PATRICK HENRY. 

And what have you to oppose this force ? What will 
then become of you and your rights ? Will not abso- 
lute despotism ensue ? " ^ 

Without reproducing here, in further detail, Patrick 
Henry's objections to the new constitution, it may now 
be stated that they all sprang from a single idea, and 
all revolved about that idea, namely, that the new plan 
of government, as it then stood, seriously endangered 
the rights and liberties of the people of the several 
states. And in holding this opinion, he was not at all 
peculiar. Very many of the ablest and noblest states- 
men of the time shared it with him. Not to name 
again his chief associates in Virginia, nor to cite the 
language of such men as Burke and Rawlins Lowndes, 
of South Carolina ; as Timothy Bloodworth, of North 
Carolina ; as Samuel Chase and Luther Martin, of 
Maryland ; as George Clinton, of New York; as Samuel 
Adams, John Hancock, and Elbridge Gerry, of Massa- 
chusetts ; as Joshua Atherton, of New Hampshire, it 
may sufficiently put us into the tone of contemporary 
opinion upon the subject, to recall certain grave words 
of Jefferson, who, watching the whole scene from the 
calm distance of Paris, thus wrote on the 2d of Febru- 
ary, 1788, to an American friend : " I own it astonishes 
me to find such a change wrought in the opinions of our 
countrymen since I left them, as that three fourths of 
them should be contented to live under a system which 
leaves to their governors the power of taking from 
them the trial by jury in civil cases, freedom of re- 
ligion, freedom of the press, freedom of commerce, the 
habeas corpus laws, and of yoking them with a standing 
army. That is a degeneracy in the principles of liberty, 
1 Elliott, Debates, iii. 58-60. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 295 

to which I had given four centuries, instead of four 
years." ^ 

Holding such objections to the proposed constitution, 
what were Patrick Henry and his associates in the Vir- 
ginia convention to do ? Were they to reject the meas- 
ure outright ? Admitting that it had some good fea- 
tures, they yet thought that the best course to be taken 
by Virginia would be to remit the whole subject to a 
new convention of the states, — a convention which, 
being summoned after a year or more of intense and 
universal discussion, would thus represent the later, the 
more definite, and the more enlightened, desires of the 
American people. But despairing of this, Patrick 
Henry and his friends concentrated all their forces upon 
this single and clear line of policy : so to press their ob- 
jections to the constitution as to iuduce the convention, 
not to reject it, but to postpone its adoption until they 
could refer to the other states in the American con- 
federacy the following momentous proposition, namely, 
" a declaration of rights, asserting, and securing from 
encroachment, the great principles of civil and religious 
liberty, and the undeniable rights of the people, to- 
gether with amendments to the most exceptionable parts 
of the said constitution of government." ^ 

Such, then, was the real question over which in that 
assemblage, from the first day to the last, the battle 
raged. The result of the battle was reached on Wednes- 
day, the 25th of June ; and that result was a victory 
for immediate adoption, but by a majority of only ten 
votes, instead of the fifty votes that were claimed for it 
at the beginning of the session. Moreover, even that 

1 Bancroft, Hist. Const., ii. 459-460. 
« Elliott, Debates, iii. 653. 



296 PATRICK HENRY. 

small majority for immediate adoption was obtained 
only by the help, first, of a preamble solemnly affirming 
it to be the understanding of Virginia in this act that 
it retained every power not expressly granted to the 
general government ; and, secondly, of a subsidiary res- 
olution promising to recommend to congress "whatso- 
ever amendments may be deemed necessary.'* 

Just before the decisive question was put, Patrick 
Henry, knowing that the result would be against him, 
and knowing, also, from the angry things uttered within 
that house and outside of it, that much solicitude was 
abroad respecting the course likely to be taken by the 
defeated party, then and there spoke these noble words : 
"I beg pardon of this house for having taken up more 
time than came to my share, and I thank them for 
the patience and polite attention with which I have been 
beard. If I shall be in the minority, I shall have those 
painful sensations wbich arise from a conviction of 
being overpowered in a good cause. Yet I will be a 
peaceable citizen. My head, my hand, and my heart, 
shall be at liberty to retrieve the loss of liberty, and re- 
move the defects of that system in a constitutional way. 
I wish not to go to violence, but will wait, with hopes 
that the spirit which predominated in the revolution is 
not yet gone, nor the cause of those who are attached to 
the revolution yet lost. I shall therefore patiently wait 
in expectation of seeing that government changed, so as 
to be compatible with the safety, liberty, and happiness 
of the people."^ 

Those words of the great Virginian leader proved to 
be a message of reassurance to many an anxious citizen, 
in many a state, — not least so to that great citizen 
1 Elliott, Debates, iii. 652. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 297 

who, from the slopes of Mount Vernon, was then watch- 
ing, night and day, for signs of some abatement in the 
storm of civil discord. Those words, too, have, in our 
time, won for the orator who spoke them the deliberate, 
and the almost lyrical, applause of the greatest historian 
who has yet laid hand on the story of the constitution : 
" Henry showed his genial nature, free from all malig- 
nity. He was like a billow of the ocean on the first 
bright day after the storm, dashing itself against the 
rocky cliff, and then, sparkling with light, retreating to"^ 
its home." ^ 

Long after the practical effects of the Virginia conven- 
tion of 1788 had been merged in the general political 
life of the country, that convention was still proudly re- 
membered for the magnificent exertions of intellectual 
power, and particularly of eloquence, which it had called 
forth. So lately as the year 1857, there was still living 
a man who, in his youth, had often looked in upon that 
famous convention, and whose enthusiasm, in recalling 
its great scenes, was not to be chilled even by the frosts 
of his ninety winters : " The impressions made by the 
powerful arguments of Madison and the overwhelming 
eloquence of Henry can never fade from my mind. I 
thought them almost supernatural. They seemed raised 
up by Providence, each in his way, to produce great re-' 
suits : the one by his grave, dignified, and irresistible 
arguments to convince and enlighten mankind; the 
other, by his brilliant and enrapturing eloquence to lead 
whithersoever he would." ^ 

Those who had heard Patrick Henry on the other 
great occasions of his career, were ready to say that his 

1 Bancroft, Hist. Const., ii. 316-317. 

2 Rives, Life of Madison, ii. 610. 



298 PATRICK HENRY. 

eloquence in the convention of 1788 was, upon the 
whole, fully equal to anything ever exhibited by him in 
any other place. The official reports of his speeches in 
that assemblage were always declared to be inferior in 
" strength and beauty " to those actually made by him 
there.^ " In forming an estimate of his eloquence," says 
one gentleman, who there heard him, " no reliance can 
be placed on the printed speeches. No reporter what- 
ever could take down what he actually said ; and if he 
could, it would fall far short of the original." ^ 

In his arguments against the constitution Patrick 
Henry confined himself to no systematic order. The 
convention had indeed resolved that the document 
should be discussed, clause by clause, in a regular 
manner ; but in spite of this, and in spite of the com- 
plaints and reproaches of his antagonists, he continually 
broke over all barriers, and delivered his " multiform 
and protean attacks " in such order as suited the work- 
ings of his own mind. 

In the course of that long and eager controversy, he 
had several passages of sharp personal collision with his 
opponents, particularly with Governor Randolph, whose 
vacillating course respecting the constitution had left 
him exposed to the most galling comments, and who, 
on one occasion, in his anguish, turned upon Patrick 
Henry with the exclamation : *' I find myself attacked 
in the most illiberal manner by the honorable gentle- 
man. I disdain his aspersions and his insinuations. 
His asperity is warranted by no principle of parlia- 
mentary decency, nor compatible with the least shadow 
of friendship ; and if our friendship must fallj let it fall, 



1 Kennedy, Life of Wirt, i. 345. 

2 Spencer Roane, MS. 



BATTLE OVER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 299 

like Lucifer, never to rise again." ^ Like all very elo- 
quent men, he was taunted, of course, for having more 
eloquence than logic; for "his declamatory talents"; 
for his " vague discourses and mere sports of fancy " ; 
for discarding " solid argument " ; and for " throwing 
those bolts " which he had " so peculiar a dexterity 
at discharging." ^ On one occasion, old General Adam 
Stephen tried to burlesque the orator's manner of 
speech : ^ on another occasion, that same petulant war- 
rior bluntly told Patrick that if he did " not like this 
government," he might "go and live among the In- 
dians," and even offered to facilitate the orator's self- 
expatriation among the savages : " I know of several 
nations that live very happily ; and I can furnish him 
with a vocabulary of their language." ^ 

Knowing, as he did, every passion and prejudice of 
his audience, he adopted, it appears, almost every con- 
ceivable method of appeal. " The variety of argu- 
ments," writes one witness, " which Mr. Henry gener- 
ally presented in his speeches, addressed to the capaci- 
ties, prejudices, and individual interests of his hearers, 
made his speeches very unequal. He rarely made in 
that convention a speech, which Quintilian would have 
approved. If he soared, at times, like the eagle, and 
seemed like the bird of Jove to be armed with thunder, 
he did not disdain to stoop like the hawk to seize his 
prey, — but the instant that he had done it, rose in pur- 
suit of another quarry." ^ 

Perhaps the most wonderful example of his elo- 
quence, if we may judge by contemporary descriptions, 

1 Elliott, Delates, iii. 187. 2 ibid. iii. 406, 104, 248, 177. 

3 St. George Tucker, MS. * Elliott, Debates, iii. 580. 

6 St. George Tucker, MS. 



300 PATRICK HENRY. 

was that connected with the famous scene of the 
thunder-storm, on Tuesday, the 24th of June, only one 
day before the decisive vote was taken. The orator, 
it seems, had gathered up all his forces for what might 
prove to be his last appeal against immediate adoption, 
and was portraying the disasters which the new system 
of government, unless amended, was to bring upon his 
countrymen, and upon all mankind : " I see the awful 
immensity of the dangers with which it is pregnant. I 
see it. I feel it. I see beings of a higher order anx- 
ious concerning our decision. When I see beyond the 
horizon that bounds human eyes, and look at the final 
consummation of all human things, and see those in- 
telligent beings which inhabit the ethereal mansions 
reviewing the political decisions and revolutions which, 
in the progress of time, will happen in America, and 
the consequent happiness or misery of mankind, I am 
led to believe that much of the account, on one side or 
the other, will depend on what we now decide. Our 
own happiness alone is not affected by the event. All 
nations are interested in the determination. We have 
it in our power to secure the happiness of one half of 
the human race. Its adoption may involve the misery 
of the other hemisphere." Thus far the stenographer 
had proceeded, when he suddenly stopped, and placed 
within brackets the following note: — "[Here a violent 
storm arose, which put the house in such disorder, that 
Mr. Henry was obliged to conclude.] " ^ But the scene 
which is thus quietly despatched by the official reporter 
of the convention was again and again described, by 
many who were witnesses of it, as something most sub- 
lime and even appalling. After having delineated with 
1 Elliott, Debates, iii. 625. 



BATTLE OVER TEE NEW CONSTITUTION. 301 

overpowering vividness the calamities which were likely 
to befall mankind from their adoption of the proposed 
frame of government, the orator, it is said, as if wield- 
ing an enchanter's wand, suddenly enlarged the arena 
of the debate and the number of his auditors ; for, peer- 
ing beyond the veil which shuts in mortal sight, and 
pointing " to those celestial beings who were hovering 
over the scene," he addressed to them "an invocation 
that made every nerve shudder with supernatural hor- 
ror, when, lo ! a storm at that instant rose, which shook 
the whole building, and the spirits whom he had called 
seemed to have come at his bidding. Nor did his elo- 
quence, or the storm, immediately cease ; but availing 
himself of the incident, with a master's art, he seemed 
to mix in the fight of his ethereal auxiliaries and ' rising 
on the wings of the tempest, to seize upon the artillery 
of heaven, and direct its fiercest thunders against the 
heads of his adversaries.' The scene became insup- 
portable ; and the house rose without the formality of 
adjournment, the members rushing from their seats 
with precipitation and confusion." ^ 

1 Wirt, 296-297. Also Spencer Roane, MS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 

Thus, on the question of adopting the new constitu- 
tion, the fight was over ; but on the question of amend- 
ing that constitution, now that it had been adopted, the 
fight, of course, was only just begun. 

For how could this new constitution be amended? 
A way was provided, — but an extremely strait and 
narrow way. No amendment whatsoever could become 
valid until it had been accepted by three fourths of the 
states ; and no amendment could be submitted to the 
states for their consideration, until it had first been ap- 
proved, either by two thirds of both houses of congress, 
or else by a majority of a convention specially called by 
congress at the request of two thirds of the states. 

Clearly, the framers of the constitution intended that 
the supreme law of the land, when once agreed to, 
should have within it a principle of fixedness almost 
invincible. At any rate, the process by which alone 
alterations can be made, involves so wide an area of ter- 
ritory, so many distinct groups of population, and is, 
withal, in itself, so manifold and complex, so slow, and 
so liable to entire stoppage, that any proposition look- 
ing toward change must inevitably perish long before 
reaching the far-away goal of final endorsement, unless 
that proposition be really impelled by a public demand, 
not only very energetic and persistent, but well-nigh uni- 



TEE AFTER-FIGHT FOR 'AMENDMENTS. 303 

versal. Indeed the constitutional provision for amend- 
ments seemed, at that time, to many, to be almost a 
constitutional prohibition of amendments. 

It was, in part, for this very reason that Patrick 
Henry had urged that those amendments of the con- 
stitution which, in his opinion, were absolutely neces- 
sary, should be secured before its adoption, and not be 
left to the doubtful chance of their being obtained after- 
ward, as the result of a process ingeniously contrived, 
as it were, to prevent their being obtained at all. But 
at the close of that June day on which he and his 
seventy-eight associates walked away from the conven- 
tion wherein, on this very proposition, they had just been 
voted down, how did the case stand ? The constitu- 
tion, now become the supreme law of the land, was a 
constitution which, unless amended, would, as they sin- 
cerely believed, effect the political ruin of the American 
people. As good citizens, as good men, what was left 
for them to do ? They had fought hard to get the con- 
stitution amended before adoption. They had failed. 
They must now fight hard to get it amended after 
adoption. Disastrous would it be, to assume that the 
needed amendments would now be carried at any rate. 
True, the Virginia convention, like the conventions of 
several other states, had voted to recommend amend- 
ments. But the hostility to amendments, as Patrick 
Henry believed, was too deeply rooted to yield to mere 
recommendations. The necessary amendments would 
not find their way through all the hoppers and tubes 
and valves of the enormous mill erected within the con- 
stitution, unless forced onward by popular agitation, — 
and by popular agitation wide-spread, determined, vehe- 
ment, even alarming. The powerful enemies of amend- 



304 PATRICK HENRY. 

merits must be convinced that, until amendments were 
carried through that mill, there would be no true peace 
or content among the surrounding inhabitants. 

This gives us the clew to the policy steadily and 
firmly pursued by Patrick Henry as a party leader, from 
June, 1788, until after the ratification of the first ten 
amendments, on the loth of December, 1791. It was 
simply a strategic policy dictated by his honest view of 
the situation ; a bold, manly, patriotic policy ; a policy, 
however, which was greatly misunderstood, and grossly 
misrepresented, at the time ; a policy, too, which grieved 
the heart of Washington, and for several years raised 
between him and his ancient friend, the one cloud of 
distrust that ever cast a shadow upon their intercourse. 

In fact, at the very opening of the Virginia conven- 
tion, and in view of the possible defeat of his demand 
for amendments, Patrick Henry had formed a clear 
outline of this policy, even to the extent of organiz- 
ing throughout the state local societies for stirring up, 
and for keeping up, the needed agitation. All this is 
made evident by an important letter written by him 
to General John Lamb, of New York, and dated at 
Richmond, June 9, 1788, — when the convention had 
been in session just one week. In this letter, after 
some preliminary words, he says : 

" It is matter of great consolation to find that the 
sentiments of a vast majority of Virginians are in uni- 
son with those of our northern friends. I am satisfied 
four fifths of our inhabitants are opposed to the new 
scheme of government. Indeed, in the part of this 
country lying south of James River, I am confident, 
nine tenths are opposed to it. And yet, strange as it 



THE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 305 

may seem, the numbers in convention appear equal on 
both sides : so that the majority, which way soever it 
goes, will be small. The friends and seekers of power 
have, with their usual subtilty, wriggled themselves into 
the choice of the people, by assuming shapes as various 
as the faces of the men they address on such occasions. 

" If they shall carry their point, and preclude pre- 
vious amendments, which we have ready to offer, it will 
become highly necessary to form the society you men- 
tion. Indeed, it appears the ouly chance for securing a 
remnant of those invaluable rights which are yielded by 
the new plan. Colonel George Mason has agreed to 
act as chairman of our republican society. His char- 
acter I need not describe. He is every way fit ; and 
we have concluded to send you by Colonel Oswald a 
copy of the bill of rights, and of the particular amend- 
ments we intend to propose in our convention. The 
fate of them is altogether uncertain ; but of that you 
will be informed. To assimilate our views on this great 
subject is of the last moment ; and our opponents ex- 
pect much from our dissension. As we see the dauger, 
I think it is easily avoided. 

" I can assure you that North Carolina is more de- 
cidedly opposed to the new government than Virginia. 
The people there seem rife for hazarding all, before 
they submit. Perhaps the organization of our system 
may be so contrived as to include lesser associations 
dispersed throughout the state. This will remedy in 
some degree the inconvenience arising from our dis- 
persed situation. Colonel Oswald's short stay here 
prevents my sayiug as much on the subject as I could 
otherwise have done. And after assuring you of my 
ardent wishes for the happiness of our common country, 



306 PATRICK HENRY. 

and the best interests of humanity, I beg leave to sub- 
scribe myself, with great respect and regard, 

" Sir, your obedient, humble servant, 

" P. Henry." ^ 

On the 27th of June, within a few hours, very 
likely, after the final adjournment of the convention, 
Madison hastened to report to Washington the great and 
exhilarating result, but with this anxious and really 
unjust surmise respecting the course then to be pursued 

by Patrick Henry : " Mr. H y declared, previous to 

the final question, that although he should submit as 
a quiet citizen, he should seize the first moment that 
offered for shaking off the yoke in a constitutional way. 
I suspect the plan will be to encourage two thirds of 
the legislatures in the task of undoing the work; or to 
get a congress appointed in the first instance that will 
commit suicide on their own authority." ^ At the same 
sitting, probably, Madison sent off to Hamilton, at New 
York, another report, in which his conjecture as to 
Patrick Henry's intended policy is thus stated ; " I am 
so uncharitable as to suspect that the ill-will to the 
constitution will produce every peaceable effort to dis- 
grace and destroy it. Mr. Henry declared . . . that he 
should wait with impatience for the favorable moment 
of regaining, in a constitutional way, the lost liberties of 
his country." ^ 

Two days afterward, by which time, doubtless, Madi- 
son's letter had reached Mount Vernon, Washington 
wrote to Benjamin Lincoln, of Massachusetts, respect- 

1 Leake, Life of Gen. John Lamb, 307-308. 

2 Madison, Letters^ etc., i. 402. 

3 Works of Hamilton, i. 463. 



THE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 307 

ing the result of the convention : " Our accounts from 
Richmond are that . . . the final decision exhibited a 
solemn scene, and that there is every reason to expect 
a perfect acquiescence therein by the minority. Mr. 
Henry, the great leader of it, has signified that, though 
he can never be reconciled to the constitution in its 
present form, and shall give it every constitutional op- 
position in his power, yet he will submit to it peace- 
ably." ^ 

Thus, about the end of June, 1788, there came down 
upon the fierce political strife in Virginia a lull, which 
lasted until the 20th of October, at which time the legis- 
lature assembled for its autumnal session. Meantime, 
however, the convention of New York had adopted the 
constitution, but after a most bitter fight, and by a major- 
ity of only three votes, and only in consequence of the 
pledge that every possible effort should be made to ob- 
tain speedily those great amendments that were at last 
called for by a determined public demand. One of the 
efforts contemplated by the New York convention, took 
the form of a circular letter to the governors of the 
several states, urging, almost pathetically, that " effect- 
ual measures be immediately taken for calling a conven- 
tion " to propose those amendments which are necessary 
for allaying " the apprehensions and discontents " then 
so prevalent.^ 

This circular letter "rekindled," as Madison then 
wrote to Jefferson, " an ardor among the opponents of 
the federal constitution, for an immediate revision of 
it by another general convention. . . . Mr. Henry and 
his friends in Virginia enter with great zeal into the 

1 Writings of Washington, ix. 392. 

2 Elliott, Debates, ii. 414. 



308 PATRICK HENRY. 

scheme." ^ In a letter written by Washington, nearly 
a month before the meeting of the legislature, it is 
plainly indicated that his mind was then grievously 
burdened by the anxieties of the situation, and that he 
was disposed to put the very worst construction upon 
the expected conduct of Patrick Henry and his party in 
the approaching session : " Their expedient will now 
probably be an attempt to procure the election of so 
many of their own junto under the new government, as, 
by the introduction of local and embarrassing disputes, 
to impede or frustrate its operation. ... I assure you 
I am under painful apprehensions from the single cir- 
cumstance of Mr. H. having the whole game to play 
in the assembly of this state ; and the effect it may have 
in others should be counteracted, if possible." ^ 

No sooner had the assembly met, than Patrick Henry's 
ascendancy became apparent. His sway over that body 
was such that it was described as " omnipotent." And 
by the time the session had been in progress not quite a 
month, Washington informed Madison that " the ac- 
counts from Richmond " were " very unpropitious to 
federal measures." " In one word," he added, "it is said 
that the edicts of Mr. H. are enregistered with less op- 
position in the Virginia assembly than those of the 
grand monarch by his parliaments. He has only to say, 
Let this be law, and it is law." ^ Within ten days from 
the opening of the session, the house showed its sensitive 
response to Patrick Henry's leadership by adopting a 
series of resolutions, the chief purpose of which was to 
ask congress to call immediately a national convention, 

1 Madison, Letters, etc., i. 418. 

2 Writings of Washington, ix. 433. 
s Bancroft, Hist. Const., ii. 483. 



THE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 309 

for proposing to the states the required amendments. 
In the debate on the subject, he is said to have declared 
" that he should oppose every measure tending to the 
organization of the government, unless accompanied 
with measures for the amendment of the constitution." ^ 

Some phrases in one of his resolutions were most 
offensive to those members of the house who had " be- 
friended the new constitution," and who, by implication 
at least, were held forth as " betrayers of the dearest 
rights of the people." " If Mr. Henry pleases," so 
wrote a correspondent of Washington, "he will carry 
the resolution in its present terms, than which none, in 
my opinion, can be more exceptionable or inflammatory ; 
though, as he is sometimes kind and condescending, he 
may perhaps be induced to alter it." ^ 

In accordance with these resolutions, a formal appli- 
cation to congress for a national convention was pre- 
pared by Patrick Henry, and adopted by the house on 
the 14th of November. Every word of that document 
deserves now to be read, as his own account of the spirit 
and purpose of a measure then and since then so pro- 
foundly and so cruelly misinterpreted : — 

" The good people of this commonwealth, in conven- 
tion assembled, having ratified the constitution sub- 
mitted to their consideration, this legislature has, in con- 
formity to that act, and the resolutions of the United 
States in congress assembled to them transmitted, 
thought proper to make the arrangements that were 
necessary for carrying it into effect. Having thus 
shown themselves obedient to the voice of their constit- 
uents, all America will find that, so far as it depends on 
them, that plan of government will be carried into im- 
mediate operation. 

1 Corr. Rev., iv. 240-24] 2 n^id. iv. 241. 



310 PATRICK HENRY. 

" But the sense of the people of Virginia would be but 
in part complied with, and but little regarded, if we went 
no further. In the very moment of adoption, and coeval 
with the ratification of the new plan of government, the 
general voice of the convention of this state pointed to 
objects no less interesting to the people we represent, 
and equally entitled to your attention. At the same 
time that, from motives of affection for our sister states, 
the convention yielded their assent to the ratification, 
they gave the most unequivocal proofs that they dreaded 
its operation under the present form. 

" In acceding to a government under this impression, 
painful must have been the prospect, had they not de- 
rived consolation from a full expectation of its imperfec- 
tions being speedily amended. In this resource, there- 
fore, they placed their confidence, — a confidence that 
will continue to support them whilst they have reason 
to believe they have not calculated upon it in vain. 

"In making known to you the objections of the peo- 
ple of this commonwealth to the new plan of govern- 
ment, we deem it unnecessary to enter into a particular 
detail of its defects, which they consider as involving 
all the great and unalienable rights of freemen : for 
their sense on this subject, we refer you to the pro- 
ceedings of their late convention, and the sense of this 
general assembly, as expressed in their resolutions of 
the day of 

" We think proper, however, to declare that in our 
opinion, as those objections were not founded in specula- 
tive theory, but deduced from principles which have been 
established by the melancholy example of other nations, 
in different ages, so they will never be removed until 
the cause itself shall cease to exist. The sooner, there- 



THE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 311 

fore, the public apprehensions are quieted, and the 
government is possessed of the confidence of the peo- 
ple, the more salutary will be its operations, and the 
longer its duration. 

"The cause of amendments we consider as a com- 
mon cause ; and since concessions have been made from 
political motives, which we conceive may endanger the 
republic, we trust that a commendable zeal will be 
shown for obtaining those provisions which, experience 
has taught us, are necessary to secure from danger the 
unalienable rights of human nature. 

" The anxiety with which our countrymen press for 
the accomplishment of this important end, will ill admit 
of delay. The slow forms of congressional discussion 
and recommendation, if indeed they should ever agree 
to any change, would, we fear, be less certain of success. 
Happily for their wishes, the constitution hath pre- 
sented an alternative, by admitting the submission to a 
convention of the states. To this, therefore, we resort, 
as the source from whence they are to derive relief from 
their present apprehensions. We do, therefore, in be- 
half of our constituents, in the most earnest and solemn 
manner, make this application to congress, that a con- 
vention be immediately called, of deputies from the 
several states, with full power to take into their consid- 
eration the defects of this constitution, that have been 
suggested by the state conventions, and report such 
amendments thereto, as they shall find best suited to 
promote our common interests, and secure to ourselves 
and our latest posterity, the great and unalienable rights 
of mankind." ^ 

Such was the purpose, such was the temper, of Vir- 
1 Jour. Va. House Del, 42-43. 



312 PATRICK HENRY. 

giiiia's appeal, addressed to congress, and written by 
Patrick Henry, on behalf of immediate measures for 
curing the supposed defects of the constitution. Was 
it not likely that this appeal would be granted ? One 
grave doubt haunted the mind of Patrick Henry. If, 
in the elections for senators and representatives, then 
about to occur in the several states, very great care was 
not taken, it might easily happen that a majority of the 
members of congress would be composed of men who 
would obstruct, and perhaps entirely defeat, the desired 
amendments. With the view of doing his part towards 
the prevention of such a result, he determined that both 
the senators from Virginia, and as many as possible of 
its representatives, should be persons who could be 
trusted to help, and not to hinder, the great project. 

Accordingly, when the day came for the election of 
senators by the assembly of Virginia, he just stood up 
in his place and named " Richard Henry Lee and Wil- 
liam Grayson, Esquires," as the two men who ought to 
be elected as senators ; and, furthermore, he named 
James Madison, as the one man who ought not to be 
elected as senator. Whereupon, the vote was taken ; 
"and after some time," as the journal expresses it, the 
committee to examine the ballot-boxes, " returned into 
the house, and reported that they had . . . found a 
majority of votes in favor of Richard Henry Lee and 
William Grayson, Esquires."^ On the 8th of December, 
1788, just one month afterward, Madison himself, in a 
letter to Jefferson, thus alluded to the incident : " They 
made me a candidate for the senate, for which I had not 
allotted my pretensions. The attempt was defeated by 
Mr. Henry, who is omnipotent in the present legisla- 
2 Jour. Va. House Del, 32. 



THE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 313 

ture, and who added to the expedients common on such 
occasions a public philippic against my federal prin- 
ciples." ^ 

Virginia's delegation in the senate was thus made 
secure. How about her delegation in the lower house ? 
That, also, was an affair to be sharply looked to. Above 
all things, James Madison, as the supposed foe of 
amendments, was to be prevented, if possible, from 
winning an election. Therefore, the committee of the 
house of delegates, which was appointed for the very 
purpose, among other things, of dividing the state into 
its ten congressional districts, so carved out those dis- 
tricts as to promote the election of the friends of the 
good cause, and especially to secure, as was hoped, the 
defeat of its great enemy. Of this committee, Patrick 
Henry was not a member; but as a majority of its 
members were known to be his devoted followers, very 
naturally, upon him, at the time, was laid the burden of 
the blame for practising this ignoble device in politics, 
— a device which, when introduced into Massachusetts 
several years afterward, also by a revolutionary father, 
came to be christened with the satiric name of " gerry- 
mandering." Surely, it was a rare bit of luck, in the 
case of Patrick Henry, that the wits of Virginia did not 
anticipate the wits of Massachusetts by describing this 
trick as " henrymandering " ; and that he thus narrowly 
escaped the ugly immortality of having his name handed 
down from age to age in the coinage of a base word 
which should designate a base thing — one of the fa- 
vorite, shabby manoeuvres of less scrupulous American 
politicians.^ 

1 Madison, Letters, etc., i. 443-444. 

2 For contemporary allusions to this first example of gerrj'mander- 



314 PATRICK HENRY. 

Thus, however, within four weeks from the opening 
of the session, he had succeeded in pressing through 
the legislature, in the exact form he wished, all these 
measures for giving effect to Virginia's demand upon 
congress for amendments. This being accomplished, he 
withdrew from the service of the house for tlie re- 
mainder of the session, probably ou account of the great 
urgency of his professional engagements at that time. 
The journal of the house affords us no trace of his 
presence there after the 18th of November; and al- 
though the legislature continued in session until the 
13th of December, its business did not digress beyond 
local topics. To all these facts, rather bitter allusion 
is made in a letter to the governor of New Hampshire, 
written from Mount Vernon, on the 31st of January, 
1789, by the private secretary of Washington, Tobias 
Lear, who thus reflected, no doubt, the mood of his 
chief: "Mr. Henry, the leader of the opposition in 
this state, finding himself beaten off the ground by fair 
argument in the state convention, and outnumbered 
upon the important question, collected his whole strength, 
and pointed his whole force against the government, in 
the assembly. He here met with but* a feeble opposi- 
tion. ... He led on his almost unresisted phalanx, and 
planted the standard of hostility upon the very battle- 
ments of federalism. In plain English, he ruled a 
majority of the assembly ; and his edicts were registered 
by that body with less opposition than those of the 
Grand Monarque have met with from his parliaments. 
He chose the two senators. ... He divided the state 

ing, see Writings of Washington^ ix. 446-447 ; Writings of Jeffer- 
son, ii. 574 ; Rives, Life of Madison, ii. 653-655 ; Bancroft, Hist. 
Const., ii. 485. 



TEE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 315 

into districts, . . . taking care to arrange matters so as 
to have the county of which Mr. Madison is an inhabi- 
tant, thrown into a district of which a majority were 
supposed to be unfriendly to the government, and by 
that means exclude him from the representative body 
in congress. He wrote the answer to Governor Clin- 
ton's letter, and likewise the circular letter to the ex- 
ecutives of the several states. . . . And after he had 
settled everything relative to the government wholly, 
I suppose, to his satisfaction, he mounted his horse and 
rode home, leaving the little business of the state to be 
done by anybody who chose to give themselves the 
trouble of attending to it." ^ 

How great was the eifect of these strategic measures, 
forced by Patrick Henry through the legislature of 
Virginia in the autumn of 1788, was not apparent, of 
course, until after the organization of the first con- 
gress of the United States, in the spring of 1789. Not 
until the 5th of May could time be found by that body 
for paying the least attention to the subject of amend- 
ments. On that day, Theodoric Bland, from Virginia, 
presented to the house of representatives the solemn 
application of his state, for a new convention ; and, 
after some discussion, this document was entered on the 
journals of the house.^ The subject was then dropped 
until the 8th of June, when Madison, who had been 
elected to congress in spite of Patrick Henry, and who 
had good reason to know how dangerous it would be 
for congress to trifle with the popular demand for 
amendments, succeeded, against much opposition, in 
getting the house to devote that day to a preliminary 

1 Bancroft, Hist. Const., ii. 488-489. 

2 Gales, Debates, i. 258-261. 



816 PATRICK HENRY. 

discussion of the business. It was again laid aside for 
nearly six weeks, and again got a slight hearing on the 
21st of July. On the 13th of August, it was once more 
brought to the reluctant attention of the house, and 
then proved the occasion of a debate which lasted until 
the 24th of that month, when the house finished its 
work on the subject, and sent up to the senate seven- 
teen articles of amendment. Only twelve of these ar- 
ticles succeeded in passing the senate ; and of these 
twelve, only ten received from the states that approval 
which was necessary to their ratification. This was 
obtained on the 15th of December, 1791. 

The course thus taken by congress, in itself propos- 
ing amendments, was not at the time pleasing to the 
chiefs of that party which, in the several states, had 
been clamorous for amendments.^ These men, desiring 
more radical changes in the constitution than could be 
expected from congress, had set their hearts on a new 
convention, — which, undoubtedly, had it been called, 
would have reconstructed, from top to bottom, the 
work done by the convention of 1787. Yet it should 
be noticed that the ten amendments, thus obtained un- 
der the initiative of congress, embodied " nearly every 
material change suggested by Virginia ; " ^ and that it 
was distinctly due, in no small degree, to the bitter 
and implacable urgency of the popular feeling in Vir- 
ginia, under the stimulus of Patrick Henry's leader- 
ship, that congress was induced by Madison to pay any 
attention to the subject. In the matter of amendments, 
therefore, Patrick Henry and his party did not get all 
that they demanded, nor in the way that they de- 

1 Marshall, Life of Washington, v. 209-210; Story, Const., i. 211. 

2 Howison, Hist. Va., ii. 333. 



THE AFTER-FIGHT FOR AMENDMENTS. 317 

manded ; but even so much as they did get, they would 
not then have got at all, had they not demanded more, 
and demanded more, also, through the channel of a 
new convention, the dread of which, it is evident, drove 
Madison and his brethren in congress into the prompt 
concession of amendments which they themselves did 
not care for. Those amendments were really a tub tc 
the whale ; but then that tub would not have been 
thrown overboard at all, had not the whale been there, 
and very angry, and altogether too troublesome with 
his foam-compelling tail, and with that huge head of his 
which could batter as well as spout. 



CHAPTER XX. 

LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 

The incidents embraced within the last three chap- 
ters cover the period from 1786 to 1791, and have been 
thus narrated by themselves for the purpose of exhibit- 
ing as distinctly as possible, and in unbroken sequence, 
Patrick Henry's relations to each succeeding phase of 
that immense national movement which produced the 
American constitution, with its first ten amendments. 

During those same fervid years, however, in which 
he was devoting, as it might seem, every power of body 
and mind to his great labors as a party-leader, and as 
a critic and moulder of the new constitution, he had 
resumed, and he was sturdily carrying forward, most 
exacting labors in the practice of the law. 

Late in the year 1786, as will be remembered, being 
then poor and in debt, he declined another election to 
the governorship, and set himself to the task of repair- 
ing his private fortunes, so sadly fallen to decay under 
the noble neglect imposed by his long service of the 
public. One of his kinsmen has left on record a pleas- 
ant anecdote to the effect that the orator happened to 
mention at that time to a friend, how anxious he was 
under the great burden of his debts. " Go back to the 
bar," said his friend ; " your tongue will soon pay your 
debts. If you will promise to go, I will give you a re- 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 3l9 

taining fee on the spot." ^ This course, in fact, he had 
already determined to take ; and thus at the age of fifty, 
at no tinae robust in health, and at that time grown 
prematurely old under the, storm and stress of all those 
unquiet years, he again buckled on his professional 
armor, rusty from long disuse, and pluckily began his 
life over again, in the hope of making some provision 
for his own declining days, as well as for the honor and 
welfare of his great brood of children and grandchil- 
dren. To this task, accordingly, he then bent himself, 
with a grim wilfulness that would not yield either to 
bodily weakness, or to the attractions or the distractions 
of politics. It is delightful to be permitted to add, that 
his energy was abundantly rewarded ; and that in ex- 
actly eight years thereafter, namely in 1794, he was 
able to retire, in comfort and wealth, from all public 
and professional employments of every sort. 

Of course, the mere announcement, in 1786, that 
Patrick Henry was then ready once more to receive 
clients, was enough to excite the attention of all per- 
sons in Virginia who might have important interests in 
litigation. His great renown throughout the country, his 
high personal character, his overwhelming gifts in argu- 
ment, his incomparable gifts in persuasion, were such 
as to ensure an almost dominant advantage to any cause 
which he should espouse before any tribunal. Confin- 
ing himself, therefore, to his function as an advocate, 
and taking only such cases as were worth his attention, 
he was immediately called to appear in the courts in all 
parts of the state. 

It is not necessary for us to try to follow this veteran 
and brilliant advocate in his triumphal progress from 
1 Winston, in Wirt. 260. 



320 PATRICK HENRY. 

one court-house to another, or to give the detail of the 
innumerable causes in which he was engaged during 
these last eight years of his practice at the bar. Of all 
the causes, however, in which he ever took part as a 
lawyer, in any period of his career, probably the most 
difficult and important,, in a legal aspect, was the one 
commonly referred to as that of the British debts, 
argued by him in the circuit court of the United States, 
at Richmond, first, in 1791, and again, in the same 
place, in 1793.^ 

A glance at the origin of this famous cause will help 
us the better to understand the significance of his rela- 
tion to it. By the treaty with Great Britain, in 1783, 
British subjects were empowered " to recover debts, 
previously contracted to them by our citizens, notwith- 
standing a payment of the debt into a state treasury 
had been made during the war, under the authority of a 
state law of sequestration." According to this provision 
a British subject, one William Jones, brought an action 
of debt, in the federal court at Richmond, against a 
citizen of Virginia, Thomas Walker, on a bond dated 
May, 1772. The real question was " whether payment 
of a debt due before the war of the revolution, from a 
citizen of Virginia to British subjects, into the loan 
office of Virginia, pursuant to a law of that state, dis- 
charged the debtor." 

The case, as will readily be seen, involved many 
subtle and difficult points of law, municipal, national, 
and international ; and the defence was contained in the 
following five pleas : (1.) That of payment, generally ; 
(2.) That of the Virginia act of sequestration, October 

1 " Ware, Administrator of Jones, Plaintiff in Error, v. Hylton et 
al.," Curtis, Decisions, i. 164-229. 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 321 

20, 1777 ; (3.) That of the Virginia act of forfeiture, 
May 3, 1779 ; (4.) That of British violations of the 
treaty of 1783 ; (5.) That of the necessary annulment 
of the debt in consequence of the dissolution of the co- 
allegiance of the two parties, on the declaration of inde- 
pendence.-^ 

Some idea of the importance attached to the case, 
may be inferred from the assertion of Wirt, that " the 
whole power of the bar of Virginia was embarked " in 
it ; and that the " learning, argument, and eloquence " 
exhibited in the discussion were such " as to have placed 
that bar, in the estimation of the federal judges, . . . 
above all others in the United States."^ Associated 
with Patrick Henry, for the defendant, were John Mar- 
shall, Alexander Campbell, and James Innes. 

For several weeks before the trial of this cause in 
1791, Patrick Henry secluded himself from all other en- 
gagements, and settled down to intense study in the re- 
tirement of his home in the country. A grandson of 
the orator, Patrick Henry Fontaine, who was there as 
a student of the law, relates that he himself was sent off 
on a journey of sixty miles to procure a copy of Vattel's 
Law of Nations. From this and other works of inter- 
national law, the old lawyer " made many quotations ; 
and with the whole syllabus of notes and heads of argu- 
ments, he filled a manuscript volume more than an inch 
thick, and closely written ; a book . . . bound with 
leather, and convenient for carrying in his pocket. He 
had in his yard ... an office, built at some distance 
from his dwelling, and an avenue of fine black locusts 
shaded a walk in front of it. . . . He usually walked 
and meditated, when the weather permitted, in this 
1 Wirt, 316-318. 2 ibid. 312. 



322 PATRICK HENRY. 

shaded avenue. . . . For several days in succession, be- 
fore his departure to Richmond to attend the court," 
the orator was seen " walking frequently in this avenue, 
with his note-book in his hand, which he often opened 
and read ; and from his gestures, while promenading 
alone in the shade of the locusts," it was supposed that 
he was committing his speech to memory.^ According 
to another account, so eager was his application to this 
labor that, in one stage of it, " he shut himself up in his 
office for three days, during which he did not see his 
family ; his food was handed by a servant through the 
office-door."^ Of all this preparation, not unworthy 
to be called Demosthenic, the result was, if we may ac- 
cept the opinion of one eminent lawyer, that Patrick 
Henry " came forth, on this occasion, a perfect master 
of every principle of law, national and municipal, which 
touched the subject of investigation in the most distant 
point." 3 

It was on the 14th of November, 1791, that the cause 
came on to be argued in the court-house at Richmond, 
before Judges Johnson and Blair of the supreme court, 
and Judge Griffin of that district. The case of the plain- 
tiff was opened by Mr. Counsellor Baker, whose argu- 
ment lasted till the evening of that da3^ Patrick Henry 
was to begin his argument in reply the next morning. 
*' The legislature was then in session ; but when eleven 
o'clock, the hour for the meeting of the court, arrived, the 
speaker found himself without a house to do business. 
All his authority and that of his sergeant at arms were 
unavailing to keep the members in their seats : every 
consideration of public duty yielded to the anxiety 

1 Edward Fontaine, MS. 2 Howe, Hist. Coll. Va., 221. 

8 Wirt, 312. 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 323 

which they felt, in common with the rest of their fellow- 
citizens, to hear this great man on this truly great and 
extensively interesting question. Accordingly, when 
the court was ready to proceed to business, the court- 
room of the capitol, large as it is, was insufficient to 
contain the vast concourse that was pressing to enter it. 
The portico, and the area in which the statue of Wash- 
ington stands, were filled with a disappointed crowd, 
who nevertheless maintained their stand without. In 
the court-room itself, the judges, through condescension 
to the public anxiety, relaxed the rigor of respect which 
they were in the habit of exacting, and permitted the 
vacant seats of the bench, and even the windows behind 
it, to be occupied by the impatient multitude. The 
noise and tumult occasioned by seeking a more favor- 
able station was at length hushed, and the profound 
silence which reigned within the room gave notice to 
those without that the orator had risen, or was on the 
point of rising. Every eye in front of the bar was 
riveted upon him with the most eager attention ; and so 
still and deep was the silence, that every one might hear 
the throbbing of his own heart. Mr. Henry, however, 
appeared wholly unconscious that all this preparation 
was on his account, and rose with as much simplicity 
and composure as if the occasion had been one of ordi- 
nary occurrence. ... It may give the reader some idea 
of the amplitude of the argument, when he is told that 
Mr. Henry was engaged three days successively in its 
delivery ; and some faint conception of the enchantment 
which he threw over it, when he learns that although it 
turned entirely on questions of law, yet the audience, 
mixed as it was, seemed so far from being wearied, that 
they followed him throughout with increased enjoyment. 



324 PATRICK HENRY. 

The room continued full to the last ; and such was ' the 
listening silence ' with which he was heard, that not a 
syllable that he uttered is believed to have been lost. 
When he finally sat down, the concourse rose, with a 
general murmur of admiration ; the scene resembled 
the breaking up and dispersion of a great theatrical as- 
sembly, which had been enjoying, for the first time, 
the exhibition of some new and splendid drama; the 
speaker of the house of delegates was at length able to 
command a quorum for business ; and every quarter of 
the city, and at length every part of the state, was filled 
with the echoes of Mr. Henry's eloquent speech." ^ 

In the spring of 1793, this cause was argued a second 
time, before the same district judge, and, in addition, 
before Mr. Chief Justice Jay, and Mr. Justice Iredell 
of the supreme court. On this occasion, apparently, 
there was the same eagerness to hear Patrick Henry 
as before, — an eagerness which was shared in by the 
two visiting judges, as is indicated, in part, by a let- 
ter from Judge Iredell, who, on the 27th of May, thus 
wrote to his wife : " We began on the great British 
causes, the second day of the court, and are now in the 
midst of them. The great Patrick Henry is to speak 
to-day." ^ Among the throng of people who then 
poured into the court-room, was John Randolph, of 
Roanoke, then a stripling of twenty years, who, having 
got a position very close to the judges, was made aware 
of their conversation with one another as the case pro- 
ceeded. He describes ihe orator as not expecting to 
speak at that time ; " as old, very much wrapped up, and 
resting his head on the bar." Meanwhile, the chief 

1 Wirt, 320-321 ; 368-369. 

2 McRee, Life of Iredell, ii. 394. 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 325 

justice, who, in earlier days, had often heard Henry in 
the continental congress, told Iredell that that feeble old 
gentleman in mufflers, with his head bowed wearily down 
upon the bar, was " the greatest of orators." " Iredell 
doubted it ; and becoming impatient to hear him, they 
requested him to proceed with his argument, before he 
had intended to speak. ... As he arose, he began to 
complain that it was a hardship, too great, to put the 
laboring oar into the hands of a decrepit old man, trem- 
bling, with one foot in the grave, weak in his best days, 
and far inferior to the able associate by him." Ran- 
dolph then gives an outline of his progress through the 
earlier and somewhat tentative stages of his speech, 
comparing his movement to the exercise " of a first-rate, 
four -mile race -horse, sometimes displaying his whole 
power and speed for a few leaps, and then taking up 
again." "At last," according to Randolph, the orator 
" got up to full speed ; and took a rapid view of what 
England had done, when she had been successful in 
arms ; and what would have been our fate, had we been 
unsuccessful. The color began to come and go in the 
face of the chief-justice ; while Iredell sat with his 
mouth and eyes stretched open, in perfect wonder. 
Finally, Henry arrived at his utmost height and grand- 
eur. He raised his hands in one of his grand and 
solemn pauses. . . . There was a tumultuous burst of 
applause ; and Judge Iredell exclaimed, — ' Gracious 
God ! he is an orator indeed ! ' " ^ It is said, also, by 
another witness, that Henry happened that day to wear 
on his finger a diamond ring ; and that in the midst of 
the supreme splendor of his eloquence, a distinguished 
English visitor who had been given a seat on the bench, 
1 Memorandum of J. W. Bouldin, in Hist. Mag. for 1873, 274-275. 



326 PATRICK HENRY, 

said with significant emphasis to one of the judges, 
" The diamond is blazing ! " ^ 

As examples of forensic eloquence, on a great subject, 
before a great and a fit assemblage, his several speeches 
in the case of the British debts, were, according to all 
the testimony, of the highest order of merit. What they 
were as examples of legal learning and of legal argumen- 
tation, may be left for every lawyer to judge for himself, 
by reading, if he so pleases, the copious extracts which 
have been preserved from the stenographic reports of 
these speeches, as taken by Robertson. Even from 
that point of view, they appear not to have suffered by 
comparison with the efforts made, in that cause, on the 
same side, by John Marshall himself. No inconsiderable 
portion of his auditors were members of the bar ; and 
those keen and competent critics are said to have ac- 
knowledged themselves as impressed " not less by the 
matter than the manner " of his speeches.^ Moreover, 
though not expressly mentioned, Patrick Henry's argu- 
ment is pointedly referred to in the high compliment 
pronounced by Judge Iredell, when giving his opinion 
in this case : " The cause has been spoken to, at the bar, 
with a degree of ability equal to any occasion. ... I 
shall, as long as I live, remember with pleasure and re- 
spect the arguments which I have heard in this case. 
They have discovered an ingenuity, a depth of investiga- 
tion, and a power of reasoning fully equal to anything I 
have ever witnessed ; and some of them have been 
adorned with a splendor of eloquence surpassing what I 
have ever felt before. Fatigue has given way under its 

1 Howe, Hist. Coll. Va., 222. 

2 Judge Spencer Roane, MS. 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 327 

influence, and the heart has been warmed, while the un- 
derstanding has been instructed." -^ 

It will be readily understood, however, that while 
Patrick Henrj's practice included important causes turn- 
ing, like the one just described, on propositions of law, 
and argued by him before the highest tribunals, the larger 
part of the practice to be had in Virginia at that time 
must have been in actions tried before juries, in which 
his success was chiefly due to his amazing endowments 
of sympathy, imagination, tact, and eloquence. The tes- 
timony of contemporary witnesses respecting his power 
in this direction is most abundant, and also most inter- 
esting ; and, for obvious reasons, such portions of it as 
are now to be reproduced, should be given in the very 
language of the persons who thus heard him, criticised 
him, and made deliberate report concerning him. 

First of all, in the way of preliminary analysis of 
Henry's genius and methods as an advocate before 
juries, may be cited a few sentences of Wirt, who, in- 
deed, never beard him, but who, being himself a very 
gifted and a very ambitious advocate, eagerly collected 
and keenly scanned the accounts of many who had 
heard him : " He adapted himself, without effort, to the 
character of the cause ; seized with the quickness of in- 
tuition its defensible point, and never permitted the jury 
to lose sight of it. Sir Joshua Reynolds has said of 
Titian, that, by a few strokes of his pencil, he knew how 
to mark the image and character of whatever object 
he attempted ; and produced by this means a truer 
representation than any of his predecessors, who fin- 
ished every hair. In like manner Mr. Henry, by a 
few master-strokes upon the evidence, could iu general 
1 McRee, Life of Iredell, ii. 395. 



328 PATRICK HENRY. 

stamp upon the cause whatever image or character he 
pleased ; and convert it into tragedy or comedy, at his 
sovereign will, and with a power which no efforts of 
his adversary could counteract. He never wearied the 
jury by a dry and minute analysis of the evidence ; 
he did not expend his strength in finishing the hairs ; 
he produced all his high effect by those rare master- 
touches, and by the resistless skill, with which, in a 
very few words, he could mould and color the promi- 
nent facts of a cause to his purpose. He had wonder- 
ful address, too, in leading off the minds of his hearers 
from the contemplation of unfavorable points, if at any 
time they were too stubborn to yield to his power of 
transformation. ... It required a mind of uncommon 
vigilance, and most intractable temper, to resist this 
charm with which he decoyed away his hearers ; it de- 
manded a rapidity of penetration, which is rarely, if 
ever, to be found in the jury-box, to detect the intel- 
lectual juggle by which he spread his nets around them ; 
it called for a stubbornness and obduracy of soul which 
does not exist, to sit unmoved under the pictures of 
horror or of pity, which started from his canvas. They 
might resolve, if they pleased, to decide the cause 
against him, and to disregard every thing which he 
could urge in the defence of his client. But it was all 
in vain. Some feint in an unexpected direction threw 
them off their guard, and they were gone : some happy 
phrase, burning from the soul ; some image fresh from 
nature's mint, and bearing her own beautiful and gen- 
uine impress, struck them with delightful surprise, and 
melted them into conciliation ; and conciliation towards 
Mr. Henry was victory inevitable. In short, he under- 
stood the human character so perfectly; knew so well 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 329 

all its strength and all its weaknesses, together with 
every path and by-way which winds around the citadel 
of the best fortified heart and mind, that he never failed 
to take them, either by stratagem or storm." ^ 

Still further, in the way of critical analysis, should be 
cited the opinion of a distinguished student and master 
of eloquence, the Reverend Archibald Alexander, of 
Princeton, who, having more than once heard Patrick 
Henry, wrote out, with a scholar's precision, the results 
of his own keen study into the great advocate's success 
in subduing men, and especially jurymen : " The 
power of Henry's eloquence was due, first, to the great- 
ness of his emotion and passion, accompanied with a 
versatility which enabled him to assume at once any 
emotion or passion which was suited to his ends. Not 
less indispensable, secondly, was a matchless perfection 
of the organs of expression, including the entire appa- 
ratus of voice, intonation, pause, gesture, attitude, and 
indescribable play of countenance. In no instance did 
he ever indulge in an expression that was not instantly 
recognized as nature itself ; yet some of his penetrat- 
ing and subduing tones were absolutely peculiar, and 
as inimitable as they were indescribable. These were 
felt by every hearer, in all their force. His mightiest 
feelings were sometimes indicated and communicated 
by a long pause, aided by an eloquent aspect, and some 
significant use of his finger. The sympathy between 
mind and mind is inexplicable. Where the channels of 
communication are open, the faculty of revealing inward 
passion great, and the expression of it sudden and vis- 
ible, the effects are extraordinary. Let these shocks of 
influence be repeated again and again, and all other 
1 Wirt, 75-76. 



330 PATRICK HENRY. 

opinions and ideas are for the moment absorbed or ex- 
cluded ; the whole mind is brought into unison with 
that of the speaker ; and the spell-bound listener, till 
the cause ceases, is under an entire fascination. Then 
perhaps the charm ceases, upon reflection, and the infat- 
uated hearer resumes his ordinary state. 

" Patrick Henry, of course, owed much to his singu- 
lar insight into the feelings of the common mind. In 
great cases he scanned his jury, and formed his mental 
estimate ; on this basis he founded his appeals to their 
predilections and character. It is what other advocates 
do, in a lesser degree. When he knew that there were 
conscientious or religious men among the jury, he would 
most solemnly address himself to their sense of right^ 
and would adroitly bring in scriptural citations. If this 
handle was not offered, he would lay bare the sensibil- 
ity of patriotism. Thus it was, when he succeeded in 
rescuing the man who had deliberately shot down a 
neighbor ; who moreover lay under the odious suspicion 
of being a tory, and who was proved to have refused 
supplies to a brigade of the American army." ^ 

Passing, now, from these general descriptions to par- 
ticular instances, we may properly request Dr. Alexan- 
der to remain somewhat longer in the witness-stand, 
and to give us, in detail, some of his own recollections 
of Patrick Henr^^ His testimony, accordingly, is in 
these words : " From my earliest childhood I had been 
accustomed to hear of the eloquence of Patrick Henry. 
On this subject there existed but one opinion in the 
country. The power of his eloquence was felt equally 
by the learned and the unlearned. No man who ever 
heard him speak, on any important occasion, could fail 
1 J. W. Alexander, Life of A. Alexander, 191-192. 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 331 

to admit his uncommon power over the minds of his 
hearers. . . . Being then a young man, just entering 
on a profession in which good speaking was very im- 
portant, it was natural for me to observe the oratory 
of celebrated men. I was anxious to ascertain the 
true secret of their power ; or what it was which ena- 
bled them to sway the minds of hearers, almost at their 
will. 

" In executing a mission from the synod of Virginia, 
in the year 1794, I had to pass through the county of 
Prince Edward, where Mr. Henry then resided. Under- 
standing that he was to appear before the circuit court, 
which met in that county, in defence of three men 
charged with murder, I determined to seize the oppor- 
tunity of observing for myself the eloquence of this ex- 
traordinary orator. It was with some difficulty I ob- 
tained a seat in front of the bar, where I could have a 
full view of the speaker, as well as hear him distinctly. 
But I had to submit to a severe penance in gratifying 
my curiosity ; for the whole day was occupied with the 
examination of witnesses, in which Mr. Henry was 
aided by two other lawyers. In person, Mr. Henry 
was lean rather than fleshy. He was rather above than 
below the common height, but had a stoop in the shoul- 
ders which prevented him from appearing as tall as he 
really was. In his moments of animation, he had the 
habit of straightening his frame, and adding to his ap- 
parent stature. He wore a brown wig, which exhibited 
no indication of any great care in the dressing. Over his 
shoulders he wore a brown camlet cloak. Under this his 
clothing was black, something the worse for wear. The 
expression of his countenance was that of solemnity 
and deep earnestness. His mind appeared to be always 



332 PATRICK HENRY. 

absorbed in what, for the time, occupied his attention. 
His forehead was high and spacious, and the skin of 
his face more than usually wrinkled for a man of fifty. 
His eyes were small and deeply set in his head, but 
were of a bright blue color, and twinkled much in their 
sockets. In short, Mr. Henry's appearance had nothing 
very remarkable, as he sat at rest. You might readily 
have taken him for a common planter, who cared very 
little about his personal appearance. In his maoners, 
he was uniformly respectful and courteous. Candles 
were brought into the court-house, when the examina- 
tion of the witnesses closed ; and the judges put it to 
the option of the bar whether they would go on with 
the argument that night or adjourn until the next day. 
Paul Carrington, Junior, the attorney for the state, a 
man of large size, and uncommon dignity of person and 
manner, and also an accomplished lawyer, professed his 
willingness to proceed immediately, while the testimony 
was fresh in the minds of all. Now for the first time 
I heard Mr. Henry make anything of a speech ; and 
though it was short, it satisfied me of one thing, which 
I had particularly desired to have decided: namely, 
whether like a player he merely assumed the appear- 
ance of feeling. His manner of addressing the court 
was profoundly respectful. He would be willing to pro- 
ceed with the trial, ' but,' said he, ' my heart is so op- 
pressed with the weight of responsibility which rests 
upon me, having the lives of three fellow-citizens de- 
pending, probably, on the exertions which I may be able 
to make in their behalf (here he turned to the prisoners 
behind him), that I do not feel able to proceed to-night. 
I hope the court will indulge me, and postpone the trial 
till the morning.' The impression made by these few 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 333 

words was such as I assure myself no one can ever con- 
ceive by seeing them in print. In the countenance, 
action, and intonation of the speaker, there was ex- 
pressed such an intensity of feeling, that all my doubts 
were dispelled ; never again did I question whether 
Henry felt, or only acted a feeling. Indeed, I experi- 
enced an instantaneous sympathy with him in the emo- 
tions which he expressed ; and I have no doubt the 
same sympathy was felt by every hearer. 

" As a matter of course, the proceedings were de- 
ferred till the next morning. I was early at my post ; 
the judges were soon on the bench, and the prisoners at 
the bar. Mr. Carrington . . . opened with a clear and 
dignified speech, and presented the evidence to the jury. 
Everything seemed perfectly plain. Two brothers and 
a brother-in-law met two other persons in pursuit of a 
slave, supposed to be harbored by the brothers. After 
some altercation and mutual abuse, one of the brothers, 
whose name was John Ford, raised a loaded gun which 
he was carrying, and presenting it at the breast of one 
of the other pair, shot him dead, in open day. There 
was no doubt about the fact. Indeed, it was not denied. 
There had been no other provocation than opprobrious 
words. It is presumed that the opinion of every juror 
was made up from merely hearing the testimony ; as 
Tom Harvey, the principal witness, who was acting as 
constable on the occasion, appeared to be a respectable 
man. For the clearer understanding of what follows, it 
must be observed that said constable, in order to dis- 
tinguish him from another of the name, was commonly 
called Butterwood Harvey, as he lived on Butter wood 
Creek. Mr. Henry, it is believed, understanding that 
the people were on their guard against his faculty of 



334 PATRICK HENRY, 

moving the passions and through them influencing the 
judgment, did not resort to the pathetic as much as was 
his usual practice in criminal cases. His main object 
appeared to be, throughout, to cast discredit on the test- 
imony of Tom Harvey. This he attempted by causing 
the law respecting riots to be read by one of his assist- 
ants. It appeared in evidence that Tom Harvey had 
taken upon him to act as constable, without being in 
commission ; and that with a posse of men he had en- 
tered the house of one of the Fords in search of the 
negro, and had put Mrs. Ford, in her husband's absence, 
into a great terror, while she was in a very delicate 
condition, near the time of her confinement. As he 
descanted on the evidence, he would often turn to Tom 
Harvey — a large, bold - looking man — and with the 
most sarcastic look, would call him by some name of 
contempt ; ' this Butterwood Tom Harvey,' ' this would- 
be-constable,' etc. By such expressions, his contempt 
for the man was communicated to the hearers. I own I 
felt it gaining on me, in spite of my better judgment ; 
so that before he was done, the impression was strong on 
my mind that Butterwood Harvey was undeserving of 
the smallest credit. This impression, however, I found 
I could counteract the moment I had time for reflection. 
The only part of the speech in which he manifested his 
power of touching the feelings strongly, was where he 
dwelt on the irruption of the company into Ford's 
house, in circumstances so perilous to the solitary wife. 
This appeal to the sensibility of husbands — and he 
knew that all the jury stood in this relation — was 
overwhelming. If the verdict could have been ren- 
dered immediately after this burst of the pathetic, every 
man, at least every husband, in the house, would have 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 335 

been for rejecting Harvey's testimony, if not for hang- 
ing him forthwith." ^ 

A very critical and cool - headed witness respecting 
Patrick Henry's powers as an advocate, was Judge 
Spencer Roane, who presided in one of the courts in 
which the orator was much engaged after his return to 
the bar in 1786. " When I saw him there," writes 
Judge Roane, " he must necessarily have been very 
rusty ; yet I considered him as a good lawyer. ... It 
was as a criminal lawyer that his eloquence had the 
finest scope. . . . He was a perfect master of the pas- 
sions of his auditory, whether in the tragic or the comic 
line. The tones of his voice, to say nothing of his mat- 
ter and gesture, were insinuated into the feelings of his 
hearers, in a manner that bafiled all description. It 
seemed to operate by mere sympathy, and by his tones 
alone it seemed to me that he could make you cry or 
laugh at pleasure. Yet his gesture came powerfully in 
aid, and if necessary, would approach almost to the 
ridiculous. ... I will try to give some account of his 
tragic and comic effect, in two instances that came be- 
fore me. About the year 1792, one Holland killed a 
young man in Botetourt, . . . Holland had gone up 
from Louisa as a schoolmaster, but had turned out 
badly, and was very unpopular. The killing was in the 
night, and was generally believed to be murder. . . . 
At the instance of the father and for a reasonable fee, 
Mr. H. undertook to go to Greenbrier court to defend 
Holland. Mr. Winston and myself were the judges. 
Such were the prejudices there, as I was afterwards 
informed by Thomas Madison, that the people there 
declared that even Patrick Henry need not come to 
1 J, W. Alexander, Life of Archibald Alexander, 183-187. 



336 PATRICK HENRY. 

defend Holland, unless he brought a jury with him. 
On the day of the trial the court-house was crowded ; 
and I did not move from my seat for fourteen hours, 
and had no wish to do so. The examination took up a 
great part of the time, and the lawyers were probably 
exhausted. Breckenridge was eloquent, but Henry left 
no dry eye in the court-house. The case, I believe, 
was murder, though, possibly, manslaughter only ; and 
Henry laid hold of this possibility with such effect as 
to make all forget that Holland had killed the store- 
keeper, and presented the deplorable case of the jury's 
killing Holland, an innocent man. He also presented, 
as it were, at the clerk's table, old Holland and his wife, 
who were then in Louisa, and asked what must be the 
feeling of this venerable pair at this awful moment, and 
what the consequences to them of a mistaken verdict 
affecting the life of their son. He caused the jury to 
lose sight of the murder they were then trying, and 
weep with old Holland and his wife, whom he painted, 
and perhaps proved to be, very respectable. All this 
was done in a manner so solemn and touching, and a 
tone so irresistible, that it was impossible for the stout- 
est heart not to take sides with the criminal. . . . The 
result of the trial was, that, after a retirement of an 
half, or quarter, of an hour, the jury brought in a ver- 
dict of not guilty ! But on being reminded by the court 
that they might find an inferior degree of homicide, 
they brought in a verdict of manslaughter. 

" Mr. Henry was equally successful in the comic line. 
. . . The case was that a wagoner and the plaintiff 
were travelling to Richmond, and the wagoner knocked 
down a turkey and put it into his wagon. Complaint 
was made to the defendant, a justice ; both the parties 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 337 

were taken up ; and the wagoner agreed to take a 
whipping rather than be sent to jail. But the plaintiff 
refused. The justice, however, gave him, also, a small 
whipping; and for this, the suit was brought. The 
plaintiff's plea was that he was wholly innocent of the 
act committed. Mr. H., on the contrary, contended 
that he was a party aiding and assisting. In the course 
of his remarks, he thus expressed himself : ' But, gen- 
tlemen of the jury, this plaintiff tells you that he had 
nothing to do with the turkey. I dare say, gentlemen, 
— not until it was roasted ! ' and he pronounced the 
word — ' roasted ' — with such rotundity of voice, and 
comicalness of manner and gesture, that it threw every 
one into a fit of laughter at the plaintiff, who stood up 
in the place usually allotted to the criminals ; and the 
defendant was let off with little or no damages." ^ 

Finally, we must recall, in illustration of our present 
subject, an anecdote left on record in 1813, by the Rev- 
erend Conrad Speece, highly distinguished, during his 
lifetime, in the Presbyterian communion. " Many years 
ago," he then wrote, " I was at the trial, in one of our 
district courts, of a man charged with murder. The 
case was briefly this : the prisoner had gone, in execu- 
tion of his office as a constable, to arrest a slave who 
had been guilty of some misconduct, and bring hina to 
justice. Expecting opposition in the business, the con- 
stable took several men with him, some of them armed. 
They found the slave on the plantation of his master, 
within view of the house, and proceeded to seize and 
bind him. His mistress, seeing the arrest, came down 
and remonstrated vehemently against it. Finding her 
efforts unavailing, she went off to a barn where her hus- 
1 MS. 



838 PATRICK HENRY. 

band was, who was presently perceived running briskly 
to the house. It was known he always kept a loaded 
rifle over his door. The constable now desired his com- 
pany to remain where they were, taking care to keep 
the slave in custody, while he himself would go to the 
house to prevent mischief. He accordingly ran towards 
the house. When he arrived within a short distance of 
it, the magter appeared coming out of the door with his 
rifle in his hand. Some witnesses said that as he came 
to the door he drew the cock of the piece, and was seen 
in the act of raising it to the position of firing. But 
upon these points there was not an entire agreement 
in the evidence. The constable, standing near a small 
building in the yard, at this instant fired, and the fire 
had a fatal effect. No previous malice was proved 
against him ; and his plea upon the trial was, that he 
had taken the life of his assailant in necessary self- 
defence. 

"A great mass of testimony was delivered. This was 
commented upon with considerable ability by the lawyer 
for the commonwealth, and by another lawyer engaged 
by the friends of the deceased for the prosecution. The 
prisoner was also defended, in elaborate speeches, by 
two respectable advocates. These proceedings brought 
the day to a close. The general whisper through a 
crowded house was, that the man was guilty and could 
not be saved. 

" About dusk, candles were brought, and Henry arose. 
His manner was . . . plain, simple, and entirely unas- 
suming. 'Gentlemen of the jury,' said he, 'I dare say 
we are all very much fatigued with this tedious trial. 
The prisoner at the bar has been well defended already ; 
but it is my duty to offer you some further observa- 



LAST LABORS AT THE BAR. 339 

tions in behalf of this unfortunate man. I shall aim at 
brevity. But should I take up more of your time than 
you expect, I hope you will hear me with patience, 
when you consider that blood is concerned.' 

" I cannot admit the possibility that any one, who 
never heard Henry speak, should be made fully to con- 
ceive the force of impression which he gave to these 
few words, ' blood is concerned.' I had been on my 
feet through the day, pushed about in the crowd, and 
was excessively wearj^ I was strongly of opinion, too, 
notwithstanding all the previous defensive pleadings, 
that the prisoner was guilty of murder ; and I felt anx- 
ious to know how the matter would terminate. Yet 
when Henry had uttered these words, my feelings un- 
derwent an instantaneous change. I found everything 
within me answering, — ' Yes, since blood is concerned, 
in the name of all that is righteous, go on ; we will 
hear you with patience until the rising of to-morrow's 
sun ! ' This bowing of the soul must have been uni- 
versal ; for the profoundest silence reigned, as if our 
very breath had been suspended. The spell of the 
magician was upon us, and we stood like statues around 
him. Under the touch of his genius, every particular 
of the story assumed a new aspect, and his cause became 
continually more bright and promising. At length he 
arrived at the fatal act itself : ' You have been told, gen- 
tlemen, that the prisoner was hound by every obligation 
to avoid the supposed necessity of firing, by leaping be- 
hind a house near which he stood at that moment. 
Had he been attacked with a club, or with stones, the 
argument would have been unanswerable, and I should 
feel myself compelled to give up the defence in despair. 
But surely I need not tell you, gentlemen, how wide is 



340 PATRICK HENRY. 

the difference between sticks or stones, and double- 
triggered, loaded rifles cocked at your breast!' The 
effect of this terrific image, exhibited in this great 
orator's peerless manner, cannot be described. I dare 
not attempt to delineate the paroxysm of emotion which 
it excited in every heart. The result of the whole was, 
that the prisoner was acquitted ; with the perfect appro- 
bation, I believe, of the numerous assembly who at- 
tended the trial. What was it that gave such trans- 
cendent force to the eloquence of Henry ? His reason- 
ing powers were good ; but they have been equalled, 
and more than equalled, by those of many other men. 
His imagination was exceedingly quick, and commanded 
all the stores of nature, as materials for illustrating his 
subject. His voice and delivery were inexpressibly 
happy. But his most irresistible charm was the vivid 
feeling of his cause, with which he spoke. Such feel- 
ing infallibly communicates itself to the breast of the 
hearer." ^ 

1 Howe, Hist. Coll. Va., 222-223. 



CHAPTER XXL 

IN RETIREMENT. 

In the year 1794, being then fifty-eight years old, and 
possessed at last of a competent fortune, Patrick Henry 
withdrew from his profession, and resolved to spend in 
retirement the years that should remain to him on earth. 
Removing from Prince Edward County, he lived for a 
short time at Long Island, in Campbell County ; but in 
1795, he finally established himself in the county of 
Charlotte, on an estate called Red Hill, — an estate 
which continued to be his home during the rest of his 
life, which gave to him his burial place, and which still 
remains in the possession of his descendants. 

The rapidity with which he had thus risen out of 
pecuniary embarrassments was not due alone to the earn- 
ings of his profession during those few years ; for while 
his eminence as an advocate commanded the highest fees, 
probably, that were then paid in Virginia, it is apparent 
from his account-books that those fees were not at all ex- 
orbitant, and for a lawyer of his standing would not now 
be regarded as even considerable. The truth is that, 
subsequently to his youthful and futile attempts at busi- 
ness, he had so profited by the experiences of his life as 
to have become a sagacious and an expert man of busi- 
ness. " He could buy or sell a horse, or a negro, as 
well as anybody, and was peculiarly a judge of the 
value and quality of lands." ^ It seems to have been 
1 Spencer Roane, MS. 



342 PATRICK HENRY. 

chiefly from his investments in lands, made by him with 
foresight and judgment, and from which, for a long time, 
he had reaped only burdens and anxieties, that he de- 
rived the wealth that secured for him the repose of his 
last years. The charge long afterward made by Jeffer- 
son, that Patrick Henry's fortune came either from a 
mean use of his right to pay his land-debts in a depre- 
ciated currency " not worth oak-leaves," or from any 
connection on his part with the profligate and infamous 
Yazoo speculation, has been shown, by ample evidence, 
to be untrue.^ 

The descriptions which have come down to us of the 
life led by the old statesman in those last five years of 
retirement make a picture pleasant to look upon. The 
house at Red Hill, which then became his home, " is 
beautifully situated on an elevated ridge, the dividing 
line of Campbell and Charlotte, within a quarter of a 
mile of the junction of Falling River with the Staun- 
ton. From it the valley of the Staunton stretches 
southward about three miles, varying from a quarter 
to nearly a mile in width, and of an oval-like form. 
Through most fertile meadows waving in their golden 
luxuriance, slowly winds the river, overhung by mossy 
foliage, while on all sides gently sloping hills, rich in 
verdure, enclose the whole, and impart to it an air of 
seclusion and repose. From the brow of the hill, west 
of the house, is a scene of an entirely different charac- 
ter : the Blue Ridge, with the lofty peaks of Otter, ap- 
pears in the horizon at a distance of nearly sixty miles." 
Under the trees which shaded his lawn, and "in full 
view of the beautiful valley beneath, the orator was ac- 
customed, in pleasant weather, to sit mornings and even- 
1 Hist. Mag. for 1867, 93 ; 3G9-370. 



IN RETIREMENT. 343 

ings, with his chair leaning against one of their trunks, 
and a can of cool spring-water by his side, from wliich he 
took frequent draughts. Occasionally, he walked to 
and fro in the yard from one clump of trees to the other, 
buried in revery, at which times he was never inter- 
rupted."^ "His great delight," says one of his sons-in- 
law, " was in conversation, in the society of his friends 
and family, and in the resources of his own mind." ^ 
Thus beneath his own roof, or under the shadow of his 
own trees, he loved to sit, like a patriarch, with his 
family and his guests gathered affectionately around 
him, and there, free from ceremony as from care, to 
give himself up to the interchange of congenial thought 
whether grave or playful, and even to the sports of the 
children. "His visitors," writes one of them, "have 
not unfrequently caught him lying on the floor, with a 
group of these little ones climbing over him in every di- 
rection, or dancing around him with obstreperous mirth, 
to the tune of his violin, while the onl^ contest seemed 
to be who should make the most noise." ^ 

The evidence of contemporaries respecting the sweet- 
ness of his spirit and his great lovableness in private 
life is most abundant. One who knew him well in his 
family, and who was also quite willing to be critical 
upon occasion, has said : " With respect to the domestic 
character of Mr. Henry, nothing could be more amiable. 
In every relation, as a husband, father, master, and 
neighbor, he was entirely exemplary. As to the dis- 
position of Mr. Henry, it was the best imaginable. I 
am positive that I never saw him in a passion, nor ap- 
parently even out of temper. Circumstances which would 

1 Howe, Hist. Coll. Va., 221. 2 Spencer Roane, MS. 

3 Cited in Wirt, 380-381. 



344 PATRICK EENRY. 

have highly irritated other men had no such visible ef- 
fect on him. He was always calm and collected ; and 
the rude attacks of his adversaries in debate only 
whetted the poignancy of his satire. . . . Shortly after 
the constitution was adopted, a series of the most abu- 
sive and scurrilous pieces came out against him, under 
the signature of Decius. They were supposed to be writ- 
ten by John Nicholas, . . . with the assistance of other 
more important men. They assailed Mr. Henry's con- 
duct in the convention, and slandered his character by 
various stories hatched up against him. These pieces 
were extremely hateful to all Mr. Henry's friends, and, 
indeed, to a great portion of the community. I was at 
his house in Prince Edward during the thickest of 
them. . . . He evinced no feeling on the occasion, and 
far less condescended to parry the effects on the public 
mind. It was too puny a contest for him, and he re- 
posed upon the consciousness of his own integrity. . . . 
With many sublime virtues, he had no vice that I knew 
or ever heard of, and scarcely a foible. I have thought, 
indeed, that he was too much attached to property, — 
a defect, however, which might be excused when we 
reflect on the largeness of a beloved family, and the 
straitened circumstances in which he had been confined 
during a great part of his life." ^ 

Concerning his personal habits, we have, through his 
grandson, Patrick Henry Fontaine, some testimony 
which has the merit of placing the great man somewhat 
more familiarly before us. " He was," we are told, 
" very abstemious in his diet, and used no wine or alco- 
holic stimulants. Distressed and alarmed at the in- 
crease of drunkenness after the revolutionary war, he did 
1 Spencer Roane, MS. 



IN RETIREMENT. 345 

everything in his power to arrest the vice. He thought 
that the introdiictiou of a harmless beverage, as a sub- 
stitute for distilled spirits, would be beneficial. To ef- 
fect this object, he ordered from his merchant in Scot- 
land a consignment of barley, and a Scotch brewer 
and his wife to cultivate the grain, and make small 
beer. To render the beverage fashionable and popular, 
he always had it upon his table while he was governor 
during his last term of office ; and he continued its use, 
but drank nothing stronger, while he lived." ^ 

Though he was always a most loyal Virginian, he be- 
came, particularly in his later years, very unfriendly to 
that renowned and consolatory herb so long associated 
with the fame and fortune of his native state. " In his 
old age, the condition of his nervous system made the 
scent of a tobacco-pipe very disagreeable to him. The 
old colored house-servants were compelled to hide their 
pipes, and rid themselves of the scent of tobacco, before 
they ventured to approach him. . . . They protested 
that they had not smoked, or seen a pipe ; and he in- 
variably proved the culprit guilty by following the scent, 
and leading them to the corn-cob pipes hid in some 
crack or cranny, which he made them take and throw 
instantly into the kitchen fire, without reforming their 
habits, or correcting the evil, which is likely to continue, 
as long as tobacco will grow." ^ 

Concerning another of his personal habits, during the 
years thus passed in retirement at Red Hill, there is 
a charming description, also derived from the grandson 
to whom we are indebted for the facts just mentioned : 
" His residence overlooked a large field in the bottom 
of Staunton River, the most of which could be seen from 
1 Fontaine, MS. 2 ibid. 



346 PATRICK HENRY. 

his yard. He rose early ; and in the mornings of the 
spring, summer, and fall, before sunrise, while the air 
was cool and calm, reflecting clearly and distinctly the 
sounds of the lowing herds and singing birds, he stood 
upon an eminence, and gave orders and directions to 
his servants at work a half mile distant from him. The 
strong, musical voices of the negroes responded to him. 
During this elocutionary morning exercise, his enuncia- 
tion was clear and distinct enough to be heard over an 
area which ten thousand people could not have filled ; 
and the tones of his voice were as melodious as the 
notes of an Alpine horn." ^ 

Of course the house-servants and the field-servants just 
mentioned were slaves ; and from the beginning to the 
end of his life, Patrick Henry was a slave-holder. He 
bought slaves, he sold slaves, and along with the other 
property — the lands, the houses, the cattle — bequeathed 
by him to his heirs, were numerous human beings of 
the African race. What, then, was the opinion respect- 
ing slavery, held by this great champion of the rights of 
man ? " Is it not amazing " — thus he wrote in 1773 — 
" that, at a time when tiie rights of humanity are de- 
fined and understood with precision, in a country above 
all others fond of liberty, in such an age, we find men, 
professing a religion the most humane, mild, meek, 
gentle, and generous, adopting a principle as repugnant 
to humanity as it is inconsistent with the Bible and 
destructive to liberty ? . . . Would any one believe 
that I am master of slaves of my own purchase ? I am 
drawn along by the general inconvenience of living 
without them. I will not, I cannot, justify it ; how- 
ever culpable my conduct, I will so far pay my ' devoir * 
1 Fontaine, MS. 



i 



IN RETIREMENT. 347 

to virtue as to own the excellence and rectitude of her 
precepts, and to lament my want of conformity to them. 
I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be 
offered to abolish this lamentable evil : everything we 
can do is to improve it, if it happens in our day ; if not, 
let us transmit to our descendants, together with our 
slaves, a pity for their unhappy lot, and an abhorrence 
of slavery. "VVe owe to the purity of our religion, to 
show that it is at variance with that law which warrants 
slavery." ^ After the revolution, and before the adop- 
tion of the constitution, he earnestly advocated, in the 
Virginia house of delegates, some method of emancipa- 
tion ; and even in the convention of 1788, where he 
argued against the constitution on the ground that it 
obviously conferred upon the general government, in 
an emergency, that power of emancipation which, in 
his opinion, should be retained by the states, he still 
avowed his hostility to slavery, and at the same time his 
inability to see any practicable means of ending it : 
" Slavery is Qletested : we feel its fatal effects — we de- 
plore it with all the pity of humanity. ... As we 
ought with gratitude to admire that decree of Heaven 
which has numbered us among the free, we ought to 
lament and deplore the necessity of holding our fellow- 
men in bondage. But is it practicable, by any human 
means, to liberate them without producing the most 
dreadful and ruinous consequences ? " ^ 

During all the years of his retirement, his great fame 
drew to him many strangers, who came to pay their 
homage to him, to look upon his face, to listen to his 
words. Such guests were always received by him with 

1 Bancroft, ed. 1869, vi. 416-417. 

2 Elliott, Debates, iii. 455-456 ; 590-591. 



348 PATRICK HENRY. 

a cordiality that was unmistakable, and so modest and 
simple as to put them at once at their ease. Of course 
they desired most of all to hear him talk of his own past 
life, and of the great events in which he had borne so 
brilliant a part ; but whenever he was persuaded to do 
so, it was always with the most quiet references to him- 
self. '' No man," says one who knew him well, "ever 
vaunted less of his achievements than Mr. H. I hardly 
ever heard him speak of those great achievements 
which form the prominent part of his biography. As 
for boasting, he was entirely a stranger to it, unless it 
be that, in his latter days, he seemed proud of the good- 
ness of his lands, and, I believe, wished to be thought 
wealthy. It is my opinion that he was better pleased to 
be flattered as to his wealth than as to his great talents. 
This I have accounted for by recollecting that he had 
long been under narrow and difficult circumstances as 
to property, from which he was at length happily re- 
lieved ; whereas there never was a time when his tal- 
ents had not always been conspicuous, though he al- 
ways seemed unconscious of them." ^ 

It should not be supposed that, in his final with- 
drawal from public and professional labors, he surren- 
dered himself to the enjoyment of domestic happiness, 
without any positive occupation of the mind. From 
one of his grandsons, who was much with him in those 
days, the tradition is derived that, besides " setting a 
good example of honesty, benevolence, hospitality, and 
every social virtue," he assisted " in . the education of 
his younger children," and especially devoted much 
time " to earnest efforts to establish true Christianity in 
our country."^ He gave himself more than ever to the 
1 Spencer Roane, MS. 2 Fontaine, MS. 



iJ 



IN RETIREMENT. 349 

study of the Bible, as well as of two or three of the 
great English divines, particularly Tillotson, Butler, 
and Sherlock. The sermons of the latter, he declared, 
had removed " all his doubts of the truth of Christian- 
ity " ; and from a volume which contained them, and 
which was full of his pencilled notes, he was accustomed 
to read " every Sunday evening to his family ; after 
which they all joined in sacred music, while he accom- 
panied them on the violin." ^ 

There seems to have been no time in his life, after his 
arrival at manhood, when Patrick Henry was not re- 
garded by his private acquaintances as a positively re- 
ligious person. Moreover, while he was most tolerant 
of all forms of religion, and was on peculiarly friendly 
terms with their ministers to whose preaching he often 
listened, it is inaccurate to say, as Wirt has done, that 
though he was a Christian, he was so " after a form of 
his own ; " that " he was never attached to any partic- 
ular religious society, and never . . . communed with 
any church." ^ On the contrary, from a grandson who 
spent many years in his household comes the tradition 
that " his parents were members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, of which his uncle, Patrick Henry, 
was a minister ; " that " he was baptized and made a 
member of it in early life ; " and that " he lived and 
died an exemplary member of it." ^ Furthermore, in 
1830, the Reverend Charles Dresser, rector of Antrim 
Parish, Halifax County, Virginia, wrote that the widow 
of Patrick Heni-y told liim that her husband used to re- 
ceive " the communion as often as an opportunity was 

1 J. W. Alexander, Life of A. Alexander, 193 ; Howe, Hist. Coll. 
Va., 221. 

2 Wirt, 402. 3 Fontaine, MS. 



350 PATRICK HENRY. 

offered, and on such occasions always fasted until after 
he had communicated, and spent the day in the greatest 
retirement. This he did both while governor and after- 
ward." ^ In a letter to one of his daughters, written in 
1796, he makes this touching confession: "Amongst 
other strange things said of me, I hear it is said by the 
deists that I am one of the number ; and, indeed, that 
some good people think I am no Christian. This 
thought gives me much more pain than the appellation of 
Tory ; because I think religion of infinitely higher im- 
portance than politics ; and I find much cause to re- 
proach myself that I have lived so long, and have given 
no decided and public proofs of my being a Christian. 
But, indeed, my dear child, this is a character which I 
prize far above all this world has, or can boast." ^ 
While he thus spoke, humbly and sorrowfully, of his 
religious position as a thing so little known to the 
public that it could be entirely misunderstood by a por- 
tion of them, it is plain that no one who bad seen him 
in the privacy of his life at home could have had any 
misunderstanding upon that subject. For years before 
his retirement from the law, it had been his custom, 
we are told, to spend "one hour every day ... in 
private devotion. His hour of prayer was the close of 
the day, including sunset ; . . . and during that sacred 
hour, none of his family intruded upon his privacy." ^ 

As regards his religious faith, Patrick Henry, while 
never ostentatious of it, was always ready to avow it, 
and to defend it. The French alliance during our revo- 
lution, and our close intercourse with France immedi- 
ately afterward, hastened among us the introduction of 

1 Meade, Old Churches, etc., ii. 12. 

2 Wirt. 387. s Fontaine, MS. 



IN RETIREMENT. 351 

certain French writers who were assailants of Christian- 
ity, and who soon set up among the younger and per- 
haps brighter men of the country the fashion of casting 
off, as parts of an outworn and pitiful superstition, the 
religious ideas of their childhood, and even the morality 
which had found its strongest sanctions in those ideas. 
Upon all this, Patrick Henry looked with grief and 
alarm. In his opinion, a far deeper, a far wiser and 
nobler handling of all the immense questions involved 
in the problem of the truth of Christianity was fur- 
nished by such English writers as Sherlock and Bishop 
Butler, and, for popular use, even Soame Jenyns. There- 
fore, as French skepticism then had among the Virginia 
lawyers and politicians its diligent missionaries, so, with 
the energy and directness that always characterized 
him, he determined to confront it, if possible, with an 
equal diligence ; and he then deliberately made himself, 
while still a Virginia lawyer and politician, a missionary 
also, — a missionary on behalf of rational and enlight- 
ened Christian faith. Thus during his second term as 
governor he caused to be printed, on his own account, 
an edition of Soame Jenyns's " View of the Internal 
Evidence of Christianity ; " likewise, an edition of 
Butler's " Analogy ; " and thenceforward, particularly 
among the young men of Virginia, assailed as they were 
by the fashionable skepticism, this illustrious colporteur 
was active in the defence of Christianity, not only by 
his own sublime and persuasive arguments, but by the 
distribution, as the fit occasion offered, of one or the 
other of these two books. 

Accordingly, when, during the first two years of his 
retirement, Thomas Paine's " Age of Reason " made 
its appearance, the old statesman was moved to write 



352 PATRICK HENRY. 

out a somewhat elaborate treatise in defence of the truth 
of Christianity. This treatise it was his purpose to have 
published. " He read the manuscript to his family as 
he progressed with it, and completed it a short time be- 
fore his death." When it was finished, however, being 
" diffident about his own work," and impressed, also, by 
the great ability of the replies to Paine, which were 
then appearing in England, " he directed his wife to 
destroy " what he had written. She " complied literally 
with his directions," and thus put beyond the chance of 
publication a work which seemed, to some who heard it, 
to be " the most eloquent and unanswerable argument 
in the defence of the Bible which was ever written." ^ 

Finally, in his last will and testament, bearing the 
date of November 20, 1798, and written throughout, as 
he says, " with my own hand," he chose to insert a 
touching affirmation of his own deep faith in Christian- 
ity. After distributing his estate among his descend- 
ants, he thus concludes: "This is all the inheritance I 
can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can 
give them one which will make them rich indeed." ^ 

It is not to be imagined that this deep seclusion and 
these eager religious studies implied in Patrick Henry 
any forgetfulness of the political concerns of his own 
country, or any indifference to those mighty events 
which, during those years, were taking place in Europe, 
and were reacting with tremendous effect upon the 
thought, the emotion, and even the material interests 
of America. Neither did he succeed in thus preserv- 
ing the retirement which he had resolved upon, without 

1 Fontaine, MS. Also Meade, Old Churches, etc., ii. 12 ; and Wm. 
Wirt Henry, MS. 

2 MS. Certified copy. 



IN RETIREMENT. 353 

haviDg to resist the attempts of both political parties to 
draw him forth again into official life. All these mat- 
ters, indeed, are involved in the story of his political 
attitude from the close of his struggle for amending the 
constitution, down to the very close of his life, — a 
story which used to be told with angry vituperation on 
one side, perhaps with some meek apologies on the 
other. Certainly, the day for such comment is long 
past. In the disinterestedness which the lapse of time 
has now made an easy virtue for us, we may see, plainly 
enough, that such ungentle words as "apostate," and 
" turn-coat," with which his name used to be plentifully 
assaulted, were but the missiles of partisan excitement; 
and that by his act of intellectual readjustment with re- 
spect to the new conditions forced upon human society, 
on both sides of the Atlantic, by the French revolution, 
he developed no occasion for apologies, — since he 
therein did nothing that was unusual at that time 
among honest and thoughtful men everywhere, and 
nothing that was inconsistent with the professions or 
the tendencies of his own previous life. It becomes 
our duty, however, to trace this story over again, as 
concisely as possible, but in the light of much historical 
evidence that has never hitherto been presented in con- 
nection with it. 

Upon the adoption, in 1791, of the first ten amend- 
ments to the constitution, every essential objection 
which he had formerly urged against that instrument 
was satisfied ; and there then remained no good reason 
why he should any longer hold himself aloof from the 
cordial support of the new government, especially as 
directed, first by Washington, and afterward by John 
Adams, — two men with whom, both personally and 



364 PATRICK HENRY, 

politically, he had always been in great harmony, ex- 
cepting only upon this single matter of the constitution 
in its original form. Undoubtedly, the contest which 
he had waged on that question had been so hot and so 
bitter that, even after it was ended, some time would 
be required for his recovery from the soreness of spirit, 
from the tone of suspicion and even of enmity, which it 
had occasioned. Accordingly, in the correspondence 
and other records of the time, we catch some glimpses 
of him, which show that even after congress had passed 
the great amendments, and after their approval by the 
states had become a thing assured, he still looked 
askance at the administration, and particularly at some 
of the financial measures proposed by Hamilton.^ 
Nevertheless, as year by year went on, and as Wash- 
ington and his associates continued to deal fairly, wisely, 
and, on the whole, successfully, with the enormous prob- 
lems which they encountered ; moreover, as Jefferson 
and Madison gradually drew off from Washington, and 
formed a party in opposition, which seemed to connive 
at the proceedings of Genet, and to encourage the 
formation among us of political clubs in apparent sym- 
pathy with the wildest and most anarchic doctrines 
which were then flung into words and into deeds in the 
streets of Paris, it happened that Patrick Henry found 
himself, like Richard Henry Lee, and many another of 
his companions in the old struggle against the constitu- 
tion, drawn more and more into support of the new 
government. 

In this frame of mind, probably, was he in the spring 
of 1793, when, during the session of the federal court 

1 For example, D. Stuart's letter, in Writings of Washington, x. 
94-96 ; also, Jour. Va. House Del. for Nov. 3, 1790. 



IN RETIREMENT. 355 

at Richmond, he had frequent conversations with Chief 
Justice Jay and with Judge Iredell. The latter, having 
never before met Henry, had felt great dislike of him 
on account of the alleged violence of his opinions 
against the constitution ; but after making his acquaint- 
ance, Iredell thus wrote concerning him : " I never was 
more agreeably disappointed than in my acquaintance 
with him. 1 have been much in his company ; and his 
manners are very pleasing, and his mind, I am per- 
suaded, highly liberal. It is a strong additional reason 
I have, added to many others, to hold in high detesta- 
tion violent party prejudice." ^ 

In the following year, General Henry Lee, then 
governor of Virginia, appointed Patrick Henry as a 
senator of the United States, to fill out an unexpired 
term. This honor he felt compelled to decline. 

In the course of the same year, General Lee, finding 
that Patrick Henry, though in virtual sympathy with 
the administration, was yet under the impression that 
Washington had cast off their old friendship, deter- 
mined to act the part of a peace-maker between them, 
and, if possible, bring together once more two old 
friends who had been parted by political differences 
that no longer existed. On the 17th of August, 1794, 
Lee, at Richmond, thus wrote to the president : " When 
I saw you in Philadelphia, I had many conversations 
with you respecting Mr. Henry, and since my return I 
have talked very freely and confidentially with that 
gentleman. I plainly perceive that he has credited 
some information, which he has received (from whom 
I know not), which induces him to believe that you 
consider him a factious, seditious character. . . . As- 
1 McRee, Life of Iredell, ii. 394-395. 



356 PATRICK HENRY. 

sured in my own mind t^at his opinions are ground- 
less, I have uniformly combated them, and lament that 
my endeavors have been unavailing. Pie seems to be 
deeply and sorely affected. It is very much to be re- 
gretted ; for he is a man of positive virtue as well as of 
transcendent talents ; and were it not for his feelings 
above expressed, I verily believe, he would be found 
among the most active supporters of your administra- 
tion. Excuse me for mentioning this matter to you. 
I have long wished to do it, in the hope that it would 
lead to a refutation of the sentiments entertained by 
Mr. Henry." ^ 

To this letter, "Washington sent a reply which ex- 
pressed unabated regard for his old friend ; and this 
reply, having been shown by Lee to Henry, drew from 
him this noble-minded answer : 

TO GENERAL HENRY LEE. 

"Red Hill, 27 June, 1795. 

" My DEAR Sir, — Your very friendly communication 
of so much of the president's letter as relates to me, 
demands my sincere thanks. Retired as I am from the 
busy world, it is still grateful to me to know that 
some portion of regard remains for me amongst my 
countrymen; especially those of them whose opinions 
I most value. But the esteem of that personage, who 
is contemplated in this correspondence, is highly flatter- 
ing indeed. 

" The American revolution was the grand operation, 
which seemed to be assigned by the Deity to the men 
of this age in oui- country, over and above the common 
1 Writings of Washington, x. 560-561. 



IN RETIREMENT. 357 

duties of life. I ever prized at a high rate the superior 
privilege of being one in that chosen age, to which 
Providence intrusted its favorite work. With this im- 
pression, it was impossible for me to resist the impulse 
I felt to contribute my mite towards accomplishing 
that event, which in future will give a superior aspect 
to the men of these times. To the man, especially, 
who led our armies, will that aspect belong ; and it is 
not in nature for one with my feelings to revere the 
revolution, without including him who stood foremost 
in its establishment. 

'' Every insinuation that taught me to believe I had 
forfeited the good will of that personage, to whom the 
world had agreed to ascribe the appellation of good and 
great, must needs give me pain ; particularly as he had 
opportunities of knowing my character both in public 
and in private life. The intimation now given me, that 
there was no ground to believe I had incurred his cen- 
sure, gives very great pleasure. 

" Since the adoption of the present constitution, I have 
generally moved in a narrow circle. But in that I have 
never omitted to inculcate a strict adherence to the 
principles of it. And I have the satisfaction to think, 
that in no part of the union have the laws been more 
pointedly obeyed, than in that where I have resided and 
spent my time. Projects, indeed, of a contrary ten- 
dency have been hinted to me ; but the treatment of 
the projectors has been such as to prevent all inter- 
course with them for a long time. Although a democrat 
myself, I like not the late democratic societies. As lit- 
tle do I like their suppression by law. Silly things may 
amuse for awhile, but in a little time men will perceive 
their delusions. The way to preserve in men's minds a 
value for them, is to enact laws against them. 



358 PATRICK HENRY. 

" My present views are to spend my days in privacy. 
If, however, it shall please God, during my life, so to 
order the course of events as to render my feeble efforts 
necessary for the safety of the country, in any, even the 
smallest degree, that little which I can do shall be done. 
Whenever you may have an opportunity, I shall be 
much obliged by your presenting my best respects and 
duty to the president, assuring him of my gratitude for 
his favorable sentiments towards me. 

" Be assured, my dear sir, of the esteem and regard 
with which I am yours, etc. 

" Patrick Henry." ^ 

After seeing this letter, Washington took an oppor- 
tunity to convey to Patrick Henry a strong practical 
proof of his confidence in him, and of his cordial friend- 
ship. The office of secretary of state having become 
vacant, Washington thus tendered the place to Patrick 
Henry : — 

" Mount Vernon, 9 October ^ 1795. 

" Dear Sir, — Whatever may be the reception of this 
letter, truth and candor shall mark its steps. You 
doubtless know that the office of state is vacant ; and 
no one can be more sensible than yourself, of the im- 
portance of filling it with a person of abilities, and one 
in whom the public would have confidence. 

" It would be uncandid not to inform you, that this of- 
fice has been offered to others ; but it is as true, that it 
was from a conviction in my own mind that you would 
not accept it (until Tuesday last, in a conversation 
with General Lee, he dropped sentiments which made 
it less doubtful), that it was not offered first to you. 
1 Writings of Washington, x. 562-563. 



IN RETIREMENT. 359 

" I need scarcely add, that if this appointment could 
be made to comport with your own inclination, it would 
be as pleasing to me, as I believe it would be acceptable 
to the public. With this assurance, and with this belief, 
I make you the offer of it. My first wish is that you 
would accept it ; the next is that you would be so good 
as to give me an answer as soon as you conveniently 
can, as the public business in that department is now 
suffering for want of a secretary." ^ 

Patrick Henry's answer to this proposal has not been 
found. Whatever may have been his reasons for de- 
clining it, they were such as to leave the door open 
for further overtures of a similar kind ; for, within the 
next three months, a vacancy having occurred in an- 
other great office, — that of chief justice of the United 
States, — Washington again employed the friendly ser- 
vices of General Lee, whom he authorized to offer the 
place to Patrick Henry. This was done by Lee in a 
letter dated December 26, 1795: "The senate have 
disagreed to the president's nomination of Mr. Rutledge, 
and a vacancy in that important office has taken place. 
For your country's sake, for your friends' sake, for 
your family's sake, tell me you will obey a call to it. 
You know my friendship for you ; you know my cir- 
cumspection ; and, I trust, you know, too, I would not 
address you on such a subject without good grounds. 
Surely no situation better suits you. You continue at 
home, only [except] when on duty. Change of air and 
exercise will add to your days. The salary excellent, 
and the honor very great. Be explicit in your reply." ^ 
On the same day on which Lee thus wrote to Henry, 
1 Writings of Washington, xi. 81-82. 2 MS. 



360 PATRICK HENRY. 

he likewise wrote to Washington, informing him that 
he had done so ; but for some cause now unknown, 
Washington received no further word from Lee for 
more than two weeks. Accordingly, on the 11th of 
January, 1796, in his anxiety to know what might be 
Patrick Henry's decision concerning the office of chief 
justice, Washington wrote to Lee as follows : — 

"My dear Sir, — Your letter of the 26th ult. has 
been received, but nothing from you since, — which is 
embarrassing in the extreme ; for not only the nomina- 
tion of chief justice, but an associate judge, and secre- 
tary of war, is suspended on the answer you were to 
receive from Mr. Henry ; and what renders the want 
of it more to be regretted is, that the first Monday of 
next month (which happens on the first day of it) is 
the term appointed by law for the meeting of the 
superior court of the United States, in this city; at 
which, for particular reasons, the bench ought to be 
full. I will add no more at present than that I am 
your affectionate, 

" Geo. Washington." ^ 

Although Patrick Henry declined this great compli- 
ment, also, his friendliness to the administration had 
become so well understood that, among the Federal 
leaders, who, in the spring of 1796, were planning for 
the succession to Washington and Adams, there was a 
strong inclination to nominate Patrick Henry for the 
vice-presidency, — their chief doubt being with refer- 
ence to his willingness to take the nomination.^ 

1 Lee, Observations, etc., 116. 

2 Gibbs, Administration of Washington, etc. i. 337 ; see, also, 
Hamilton, Works, vi. 114. 



IN RETIREMENT. 361 

All these overtures to Patrick Henry were somewhat 
jealously watched by Jefferson, who, indeed, in a letter 
to Monroe, on the 10th of July, 1796, interpreted them 
with that easy recklessness of statement which so fre- 
quently embellished his private correspondence and his 
private talk. " Most assiduous court," he says, of the 
Federalists, " is paid to Patrick Henry. He has been 
offered everything which they knew he would not ac- 
cept." 1 

A few weeks after Jefferson penned those sneering 
words, the person thus alluded to wrote to his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Aylett, concerning certain troublesome reports 
which had reached her : " As to the reports you have 
heard, of my changing sides in politics, I can only say 
they are not true. I am too old to exchange my former 
opinions, which have grown up into fixed habits of 
thinking. True it is, I have condemned the conduct 
of our members in congress, because, in refusing to raise 
money for the purposes of the British treaty, they, in 
effect, would have surrendered our country bound, hand 
and foot, to the power of the British nation. . . . The 
treaty is, in my opinion, a very bad one indeed. But 
what must I think of those men, whom I myself warned 
of the danger of giving the power of making laws by 
means of treaty to the president and senate, when I see 
these same men denying the existence of that power, 
which, they insisted in our convention, ought properly 
to be exercised by the president and senate, and by none 
other ? The policy of these men, both then and now, 
appears to me quite void of wisdom and foresiglit. 
These sentiments I did mention in conversation in Rich- 
mond, and perhaps others which I don't remember. . . . 

1 Jefferson, Writings, iv. 148. 



362 PATRICK HENRY. 

It seems that every word was watched which I casually 
dropped, and wrested to answer party views. Who can 
have been so meanly employed, I know not, neither do 
I care ; for I no longer consider myself as an actor on 
the stage of public life. It is time for me to retire ; 
and I shall never more appear in a public character, 
unless some unlooked-for circumstance shall demand 
from me a transient effort, not inconsistent with private 
life — in which I have determined to continue." ^ 

In the autumn of 1796, the assembly of Virginia, 
then under the political control of Jefferson, and appar- 
ently eager to compete with the Federalists for the pos- 
session of a great name, elected Patrick Henry to the 
governorship of the state. But the man whose purpose 
to refuse office had been proof against the attractions of 
the United States senate, and of the highest place in 
Washington's cabinet, and of the highest judicial posi- 
tion in the country, was not likely to succumb to the 
opportunity of being governor of Virginia for the sixth 
time. 

1 Entire letter in Wirt, 385-387. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

LAST DAYS. 

The intimation given by Patrick Henry to his daugh- 
ter, in the summer of 1796, that, though he could never 
again engage in a public career, he yet might be com- 
pelled by " some unlooked-for circumstance " to make 
*' a transient effort " for the public safety, was not put 
to the test until nearly three years afterward, when it 
was verified in the midst of those days in which he was 
suddenly to find surcease of all earthly care and pain. 

Our story, therefore, now passes hurriedly by the 
year 1797, — which saw the entrance of John Adams 
into the presidency, the return of Monroe from France 
in great anger at the men who had recalled him, the 
publication of Jefferson's letter to Mazzei, everywhere an 
increasing bitterness and even violence in partisan feel- 
ing. In the same manner, also, must we pass by the 
year 1798, — which saw the popular uprising against 
France, the mounting of the black cockade against her, 
the suspension of commercial intercourse with her, the 
summons to TYashingtou to come forth once more and 
lead the armies of America against the enemy ; then the 
moonstruck madness of the Federalists, forcing upon the 
country the naturalization act, the alien acts, the sedition 
act ; then, the Kentucky resolutions, as written by Jeffer- 
son, declaring the acts just named to be " not law, but ut- 
terly void and of no force," and liable " unless arrested 



864 PATRICK HENRY. 

on the threshold," " to drive these states into revolution 
and blood ; " then, the Virginia resolutions, as written 
by Madison, denouncing the same acts as " palpable 
and alarming infractions of the constitution ; " finally, 
the preparations secretly making by the government of 
Virginia ^ for armed resistance to the government of the 
United States. 

Just seven days after the passage of the Virginia 
resolutions, an eminent citizen of that state appealed 
by letter to Patrick Henry for some written expression 
of his views upon the troubled situation, with the im- 
mediate object of aiding in the election of John Mar- 
shall, who having just before returned from his bafiled 
embassy to Paris, was then in nomination for congress, 
and was encountering assaults directed by every energy 
and art of the opposition. In response to this appeal, 
Patrick Henry wrote, in the early part of the year 
1799, the following remarkable letter, which is of deep 
interest still, not only as showing his discernment of the 
true nature of that crisis, but as furnishing a complete 
answer to the taunt that his mental faculties were then 
fallen into decay : — 

TO ARCHIBALD BLAIR. 

" Rkd Hill, Ciiahlotte, 8 January, 1799. 
" Dear Sir, — Your favor of the 28th of last month 
I have received. Its contents are a fresh proof that 
there is cause for much lamentation over the present 
state of things in Virginia. It is possible that most of 
the individuals who compose the contending factions 
are sincere, and act from honest motives. But it is 
more than probable, that certain leaders meditate a 
1 Henry Adams, Life of J. Randolph, 27-28. 



LAST DAYS. 365 

change in government. To effect this, I see no way so 
practicable as dissolving the confederacy. And I am 
free to own, that, in my judgment, most of the measures 
lately pursued by the opposition party, directly and cer- 
tainly lead to that end. If this is not the system of 
the party, they have none, and act ' ex tempore.' 

" I do acknowledge that I am not capable to form a 
correct judgment on the present politics of the world. 
The wide extent to which the present contentions have 
gone will scarcely permit any observer to see enough 
in detail to enable him to form anything like a tolerable 
judgment on the fiual result, as it may respect the na- 
tions in general. But, as to France, I have no doubt 
in saying that to her it will be calamitous. Her con- 
duct has made it the interest of the great family of man- 
kind to wish the downfall of her present government ; 
because its existence is incompatible with that of all 
others within its reach. And, whilst I see the dangers 
that threaten ours from her intrigues and her arms, I 
am not so much alarmed as at the apprehension of her 
destroying the great pillars of all government and of 
social life, — I mean virtue, morality, and religion. 
This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that ren- 
ders us invincible. These are the tactics we should 
study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen in- 
deed. In vain may France show and vaunt her diplo- 
matic skill, and brave troops : so long as our manners 
and principles remain sound, there is no danger. But 
believing, as I do, that these are in danger, that infi- 
delity in its broadest sense, under the name of phi- 
losophy, is fast spreading, and that, under the patron- 
age of French manners and principles, everything that 
ought to be dear to man is covertly but successfully 



366 PATRICK HENRY. 

assailed, I feel the value of those men amongst us, who 
hold out to the world the idea, that our continent is to 
exhibit an originality of character ; and that, instead of 
that imitation and inferiority which the countries of the 
old world have been in the habit of exacting from the 
new, we shall maintain that high ground upon which 
nature has placed us, and that Europe will alike cease 
to rule us and give us modes of thinking. 

" But I must stop short, or else this letter will be all 
preface. These prefatory remarks, however, I thought 
proper to make, as they point out the kind of character 
amongst our countrymen most estimable in my eyes. 
General Marshall and his colleagues exhibited the 
American character as respectable. France, in the 
period of her most triumphant fortune, beheld them as 
unappalled. Her threats left them, as she found them, 
mild, temperate, firm. Can it be thought that, with 
these sentiments, I should utter anything tending to 
prejudice General Marshall's election ? Very far from 
it, indeed. Independently of the high gratification I 
felt from his public ministry, he ever stood high in my 
esteem as a private citizen. His temper and disposition 
were always pleasant, his talents and integrity unques- 
tioned. These things are sufficient to place that gentle- 
man far above any competitor in the district for con- 
gress. But, when you add the particular information 
and insight which he has gained, and is able to commu- 
nicate to our public councils, it is really astonishing that 
even blindness itself should hesitate in the choice. . . . 
Tell Marshall I love him, because he felt and acted as 
a republican, as an American. ... I am too old and 
infirm ever again to undertake public concerns. I live 
much retired, amidst a multiplicity of blessings from 



LAST DAYS. 367 

that Gracious Ruler of all things, to whom I owe un- 
ceasing acknowledgments for his unmerited goodness to 
me ; and if I was permitted to add to the catalogue 
one other blessing, it should be, that my countrymen 
should learn wisdom and virtue, and in this their day to 
know the things that pertain to their peace. Farewell. 
" I am, dear Sir, yours, 

"Patrick Henry." ^ 

The appeal from Archibald Blair, which evoked this 
impressive letter, had suggested to the old statesman 
no effort which could not be made in his retirement. 
Before, however, he was to pass beyond the reach of 
all human appeals, two others were to be addressed to 
him, the one by John Adams, the other by Washington, 
both asking him to come forth into the world again, the 
former calling for his help in averting war with France, 
the latter for his help in averting the triumph of violent 
and dangerous counsels at home. 

On the 25th of February, 1799, John Adams, shak- 
ing himself free of his partisan counsellors, — all hot 
for war with France, — suddenly changed the course of 
history, by sending to the senate the names of these 
three citizens, Oliver Ellsworth, Patrick Henry, and 
William Vans Murray, " to be envoys extraordinary 
and ministers plenipotentiary to the French republic, 
with full powers to discuss and settle, by a treaty, all 
controversies between the United States and France.'* 
In his letter of the 16th of April, declining the appoint- 
ment, Patrick Henry spoke of himself as having been 
" confined for several weeks by a severe indisposition," 
and as being " still so sick as to be scarcely able to write 
1 Writings of Washington, xi. 557-559. 



368 PATRICK HENRY. 

this." " My advanced age," he added, " and increasing 
debility compel me to abandon every idea of serving 
my country, where the scene of operation is far distant, 
and her interests call for incessant and long continued 
exertion. ... I cannot, however, forbear expressing, 
on this occasion, the high sense I entertain of the honor 
done me by the president and senate in the appoint- 
ment. And I beg you, sir, to present me to them in 
terms of the most dutiful regard, assuring them that 
this mark of their confidence in me, at a crisis so event- 
ful, is an agreeable and flattering proof of their con- 
sideration towards me, and that nothing short of an 
absolute necessity could induce me to withhold my little 
aid from an administration whose ability, patriotism, 
and virtue, deserve the gratitude and reverence of all 
their fellow-citizens." ^ 

Such was John Adams's appeal to Patrick Henry, 
and its result. The appeal to him from Washington — 
an appeal which he could not resist, and which induced 
him, even in his extreme feebleness of body, to make 
one last and noble exertion of his genius — happened in 
this wise. On the 15th of January, 1799, from Mount 
Vernon, Washington wrote to his friend a long letter, 
marked " confidential," in which he stated with great 
frankness his own anxieties respecting the dangers then 
threatening the country : " It would be a waste of time 
to attempt to bring to the view of a person of your 
observation and discernment, the endeavors of a certain 
party among us to disquiet the public mind with un- 
founded alarms ; to arraign every act of the administra- 
tion ; to set the people at variance with their govern- 
ment ; and to embarrass all its measures. Equally 
1 Works oj John Adams, ix. 162; viii. 641-642. 



I 



LAST DAYS. 369 

useless would it be to predict what must be the inevi- 
table consequences of such a policy, if it cannot be ar- 
rested. 

" Unfortunately, — and extremely do I regret it, — the 
state of Virginia has taken the lead in this opposition. 
... It has been said that the great mass of the citizens 
of this state are well-afFected, notwithstanding, to the 
general government and the union ; and I am willing to 
believe it, nay, do believe it. But how is this to be 
reconciled with their suffrages at the elections of repre- 
sentatives, . . . who are men opposed to the former, 
and by the tendency of their measures would destroy 
the latter ? . . . One of the reasons assigned is, that 
the most respectable and best qualified characters among 
us will not come forward. . . . But, at such a crisis as 
this, when everything dear and valuable to us is as- 
sailed ; when this party hangs upon the wheels of gov- 
ernment as a dead weight, opposing every measure that 
is calculated for defence and self-preservation, abetting 
the nefarious views of another nation upon our rights ; 
. . . when measures are systematically and pertina- 
ciously pursued, which must eventually dissolve the 
union, or produce coercion ; I say, when these things 
have become so obvious, ought characters who are best 
able to rescue their country from the pending evil, to 
remain at home ? Rather ought they not to come for- 
ward, and by their talents and influence stand in the 
breach which such conduct has made on the peace and 
happiness of this country, and oppose the widening of 
it? . . . 

" I come, now, my good Sir, to the object of my 
letter, which is to express a hope and an earnest wish, 
that you will come forward at the ensuing elections (if 



11 



370 PATRICK HENRY. 

not for congress, which you may think would take you 
too long from home), as a candidate for representative 
in the general assembly of this commonwealth. 

" There are, I have no doubt, very many sensible men 
who oppose themselves to the torrent that carries away 
others who had rather swim with, than stem it without 
an able pilot to conduct them ; but these are neither old 
in legislation, nor well known in the community. Your 
weight of character and influence in the house of repre- 
sentatives would be a bulwark against such dangerous 
sentiments as are delivered there at present. It would 
be a rallying point for the timid, and an attraction of 
the wavering. In a word, I conceive it to be of im- 
mense importance at this crisis, that you should be 
there ; and I would fain hope that all minor considera- 
tions will be made to yield to the measure." ^ 

There can be little doubt that it was this solemn in- 
vocation on the part of Washington, which induced the 
old statesman, on whom Death had already begun to 
lay his icy hands, to come forth from the solitude in 
which he had been so long buried, and offer himself for 
the suffrages of his neighbors, as their representative in 
the next house of delegates, there to give check, if pos- 
sible, to the men who seemed to be hurrying Virginia 
upon violent courses, and the republic into civil war. 
Accordingly, before the day for the usual March ^ court 
in Charlotte, the word went out through all that coun- 
try that old Patrick Henry, whose wondrous voice in 
public no man had heard for those many years, who had 
indeed been almost numbered among the dead ones of 
their heroic days foregone, was to appear before all the 

1 Writings of Washington, xi. 387-391. 

2 Garland, Life of John Randolph, 130. 



LAST DAYS. 371 

people once more, and speak to them as in the former 
time, and give to them his counsel amid those thicken- 
ing dangers which alone could have drawn him forth 
from the very borders of the grave. 

When the morning of that day came, from all the 
region thereabout the people began to stream toward 
the place where the orator was to speak. So wide- 
spread was the desire to hear him that even the college 
in the next county — the college of Hampden-Sidney — 
suspended its work for that day, and thus enabled all its 
members, the president himself, the professors, and the 
students, to hurry over to Charlotte court-house. One 
of those students, John Miller, of South Carolina, ac- 
cording to an account said to have been given by him in 
conversation forty years afterward, having with his com- 
panions reached the town, " and having learned that the 
great orator would speak in the porch of a tavern front- 
ing the large court-green, . . . pushed his way through 
the gathering crowd, and secured the pedestal of a pillar 
where he stood within eight feet of him. He was very 
infirm, and seated in a chair conversing with some old 
friends, waiting for the assembling of the immense 
multitudes who were pouring in from all the surround- 
ing country to hear him. At length he arose with diffi- 
culty, and stood somewhat bowed with age and weak- 
ness. His face was almost colorless. His countenance 
was careworn ; and when he commenced his exordium, 
his voice was slightly cracked and tremulous. But in a 
few moments a wonderful transformation of the whole 
man occurred, as he warmed with his theme. He stood 
erect ; his eye beamed with a light that was almost 
supernatural ; his features glowed with the hue and fire 
of youth ; and his voice rang clear and melodious with 



372 PATRICK HENRY. 

the intonations of some grand musical instrument whose 
notes filled the area, and fell distinctly and delightfully 
upon the ears of the most distant of the thousands gath- 
ered before him." ^ 

As regards the substance of the speech then made, it 
will not be safe for us to confide very much in the sup- 
posed recollections of old men who heard it when they 
were young. Upon the whole, probably, the most trust- 
worthy outline of it now to be had is that of a gentleman 
who declares that he wrote down his recollections of the 
speech not long after its delivery. According to this ac- 
count, Patrick Henry " told them that the late proceed- 
ings of the Virginian assembly had filled him with appre- 
hensions and alarm ; that they had planted thorns upon 
his pillow ; that they had drawn him from that happy re- 
tirement which it had pleased a bountiful Providence to 
bestow, and in which he had hoped to pass, in quiet, the 
remainder of his days ; that the state had quitted the 
sphere in which she had been placed by the constitution, 
and, in daring to pronounce upon the validity of federal 
laws, had gone out of her jurisdiction in a manner not 
warranted by any authority, and in the highest degree 
alarming to every considerate man ; that such opposi- 
tion, on the part of Virginia, to the acts of the general 
government, must beget their enforcement by military 
power; that this would probably produce civil war, 
civil war foreign alliances, and that foreign alliances 
must necessarily end in subjugation to the powers called 
in. He conjured the people to pause and consider well, 
before they rushed into such a desperate condition, from 
which there could be no retreat. He painted to their 
imaginations Washington, at the head of a numerous 
1 Fontaine, MS. 



LAST DAYS. 373 

and well-appointed army, inflicting upon them military 
execution. ' And where/ he asked, ' are our resources 
to meet such a conflict ? Where is the citizen of 
America who will dare to lift his hand against the 
father of his country ? ' A drunken man in the crowd 
threw up his arm, and exclaimed that he dared to do 
it. ' No,' answered Mr. Henry, rising aloft in all his 
majesty, 'you dare not do it: in such a parricidal at- 
tempt, the steel would drop from jour nerveless arm ! ' 
. . . Mr. Henry, proceeding in his address to the 
people, asked, whether the county of Charlotte would 
have any authority to dispute an obedience to i^^e laws 
of Virginia ; and he pronounced Virginia to be to the 
union, what the county of Charlotte was to her. Hav- 
ing denied the right of a state to decide upon the con- 
stitutionality of federal laws, he added, that perhaps it 
might be necessary to say something of the merits of 
the laws in question.^ His private opinion was that 
they were good and proper. But whatever might be 
their merits, it belonged to the people, who held the 
reins over the head of congress, and to them alone, to 
say whether they were acceptable or otherwise, to Vir- 
ginians ; and that this must be done by way of petition ; 
that congress were as much our representatives as the 
assembly, and had as good a right to our confidence. 
He had seen with regret the unlimited power over the 
purse and sword consigned to the general government ; 
but ... he had been overruled, and it was now neces- 
sary to submit to the constitutional exercise of that 
power. ' If,' said he, ' I am asked what is to be done, 
when a people feel themselves intolerably oppressed, 
my answer is ready, — Overturn the government. But 
1 The alien and sedition acts. 



374 PATRICK HENRY. 

do not, I beseech you, carry matters to this length with- 
out provocation. Wait at least until some infringement 
is made upon your rights, and which cannot otherwise 
be redressed ; for if ever you recur to another change, 
you may bid adieu forever to representative govern- 
ment. You can never exchange the present govern- 
ment but for a monarchy. . . . Let us preserve our 
strength for the French, the English, the Germans, or 
whoever else shall dare to invade our territory, and not 
exhaust it in civ iV commotions and intestine wars.' He 
concluded by declaring his design to exert himself in 
the CDcleavor to allay the heart-burnings and jealousies 
which had been fomented in the state legislature ; and 
he fervently prayed, if he was deemed unworthy to ef- 
fect it, that it might be reserved to some other and abler 
hand, to extend this blessing over the community." ^ 

The outline thus given may be inaccurate in several 
particulars : it is known to be so in one. Respecting 
the alien and sedition acts, the orator expressed no 
opinion at all ; ^ but accepting them as the law of the 
land, he counselled moderation, forbearance, and the use 
of constitutional means of redress. Than that whole 
effort, as has been said by a recent and a sagacious histo- 
rian, " nothing in his life was nobler." ^ 

Upon the conclusion of the old man's speech the 
stand was taken by a very young man, John Randolph, 
of Roanoke, who undertook to address the crowd, offer- 
ing himself to them as a candidate for congress, but on 
behalf of the party then opposed to Patrick Henry. 
By reason of weariness, no doubt, the latter did not re- 
main upon the platform ; but having ^* requested a friend 

1 Wirt, 393-395. 2 Hist. Mag. for 1873, 353. 

8 Henry Adams, John Randolph^ 29. 



LAST BAYS. 375 

to report to him anything which might require an 
answer," he stepped back into the tavern. " Randolph 
began by saying that he had admired that man more 
than any on whom the sun had shone, but that now 
he was constrained to differ from him ' toto cceloJ* " 
Whatever else Randolph may have said in his speech, 
whether important or otherwise, was spoken under the 
disadvantage of a cold and a hoarseness so severe as 
to render him scarcely able to " utter an audible sen- 
tence." Furthermore, Patrick Henry " made no reply, 
nor did he again present himself to the people." ^ 
There is. however, a tradition, not improbable, that 
when Randolph had finished his speech, and had come 
back into the room where the aged statesman was rest- 
ing, the latter, taking him gently by the hand, said to 
him, with great kindness : " Young man, you call me 
father. Then, my son, I have something to say unto 
thee : keep justice, keep truth, — and you will live to 
think differently." 

As a result of the poll, Patrick Henry was, by a 
great majority, elected to the house of delegates. But 
his political enemies, who, for sufficient reasons, greatly 
dreaded his appearance upon that scene of his ancient 
domination, were never any more to be embarrassed by 
his presence there. For, truly, they who, on that March 
day, at Charlotte court-house, had heard Patrick Henry, 
" had heard an immortal orator who would never speak 

1 J. W. Alexander, Life of A. Alexander, 188-189. About this 
whole scene have gathered many mj^ths, of which several first ap- 
peared in a Life of Henry, in the New Edinh. Encycl., 1817 ; were 
thence" copied into Howe, Hist. Coll. Va., 22-1-225 ; and have thence 
been engulfed in that rich mass of unwhipped hyperboles and of un- 
exploded fables still patriotically swallowed by the American public 
h as American history. 



376 PATRICK HENRY. 

again." ^ He seems to have gone thence to his home, 
and never to have left it. About the middle of the next 
month, being too sick to write many words, he lifted 
himself up in bed long enougli to tell the secretary of 
state that he could not go on the mission to France, and 
to send his dying blessing to his old friend, the president. 
Early in June, his eldest daughter, Martha Fontaine, 
living at a distance of two days' travel from Red Hill, 
received from him a letter beginning with these words : 
" Dear Patsy, I am very unwell, and have Dr. Cabell 
with me." ^ Upon this alarming news, she and others 
of his kindred in that neighborhood made all haste to 
go to him. On arriving at Red Hill, " they found him 
sitting in a large, old-fashioned arm-chair, in which he 
was easier than upon a bed." The disease of which he 
was dying was intussusception. On the 6th of June, all 
other remedies having failed, Dr. Cabell proceeded to 
administer to him a dose of liquid mercury. Taking the 
vial in his hand, and looking at it for a moment, the 
dying man said : " I suppose, doctor, this is your last re- 
sort." The doctor replied : " I am sorry to say, gov- 
ernor, that it is. Acute inflammation of the intestine 
has already taken place ; and unless it is removed, mor- 
tification will ensue, if it has not already commenced, 
which I fear." '• What will be the effect of this medi- 
cine ? " — said the old man. " It will give you immedi- 
ate relief, or" — the kind-hearted doctor could not fin- 
ish the 'sentence. His patient took up the word : " You 
mean, doctor, that it will give relief, or will prove fatal 
immediately ? " The doctor answered : " You can only 
live a very short time without it, and it may possibly re- 
lieve you." Then Patrick Henry said, " Excuse me, 
1 Henry Adams. 2 Fontaine, MS. 



LAST DAYS. 377 

doctor, for a few minutes ; " and drawing down over his 
eyes a silken cap which he usually wore, and still hold- 
ing the vial in his hand, he prayed, in clear words, a 
simple childlike prayer, for his family, for his country, 
and for his own soul then in the presence of death. 
Afterward, in perfect calmness, he swallowed the medi- 
cine. Meanwhile, Dr. Cabell, who greatly loved him, 
went out upon the lawn, and in his grief threw him- 
self down upon the earth under one of the trees, weep- 
ing bitterly. Soon, when he had sufficiently mastered 
himself, the doctor came back to his patient, whom 
he found calmly watching the congealing of the blood 
under his finger-nails, and speaking words of love and 
peace to his family, who were weeping around his chair. 
Among other things, he told them that he was thankful 
for that goodness of God, which, having blessed him 
through all his life, was then permitting him to die with- 
out any pain. Finally, fixing his eyes with much ten- 
derness on his dear friend, Dr. Cabell, with whom he 
had formerly held many arguments respecting the 
Christian religion, he asked the doctor to observe how 
great a reality and benefit that religion was to a man 
about to die. And after Patrick Henry had spoken to 
his beloved physician these few words, in praise of 
something which, having never failed him in all his 
life before, did not then fail him in his very last need 
of it, he continued to breathe very softly for some mo- 
ments ; after which they who were looking upon him 
saw that his life had departed. 






N^ J T^.^~~ --^"CT 



N 



LIST OF PRINTED DOCUMENTS 

CITED IN THIS BOOK, WITH TITLES, PLACES, AND 
DATES OF THE EDITIONS USED. 



Adams, Charles Francis. (See Jolin Adams. ) 

Adams, Henry, The Life of Albert Gallatin, Philadelphia: 
1880. 

Adams, Henry, John Randolph. Am. Statesmen Series. Bos- 
ton: 1882. 

Adams, John. (See Novanglus, etc.) 

Adams, John, Letters of, Addressed to his Wife. Ed. by Charles 
Francis Adams. 2 vols. Boston : 1841. 

Adams, John, The Works of. Ed. by Charles Francis Adams. 
10 vols. Boston: 1856. 

Adams, Samuel, Life of. (See Wm. V. Wells.) 

Alexander, James W., The Life of Archibald Alexander. New 
York: 1854. 

American Archives. (Peter Force.) 9 vols. Washington: 
1837-1853. 

The American Quarterly Review. Vol. i. Philadelphia : 1827. 

Bancroft, George, History of the United States. 10 vols. 
Boston: 1870-1874. 

Bancroft, George, History of the United States. The Author's 
Last Revision. 6 vols. New York : 1883-1885. 

Bancroft, George, History of the Formation of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States of America. 2 vols. New York : 
1882. 

Bland, Richard, A Letter to the Clergy of Virginia, n. p. 
1760. 

Brougham, Henry, Lord, The Life and Times of. Written by 
himself. 3 vols. New York: 1871. 

Burk, John (Daly), The History of Virginia. 4 vols. Peters- 



LIST OF PRINTED DOCUMENTS. 379 

burg-: 1804-1816. Last volume by Skelton Jones and Louis 
Hue Girardin. 

Byrd, WiLLiAivi, Byrd Manuscripts. 2 vols. Richmond : 1866. 

Calendar of Virginia State Papers. Vol. ii. Richmond : 1881. 

Campbell, Charles, The Bland Papers : Being- a Selection from 
the Manuscripts of Colonel Theodorick Bland, Jr. 2 vols. 
Petersburg:: 1840. 

Campbell, Charles, History of the Colony and Ancient Domin- 
ion of Virginia. Philadelphia : 1860. 

Colonel George Rogers Clark's Sketch of his Campaign in the 
Illinois in 1778-79. Cincinnati : 1869. 

Cooke, John Esten, Virginia : A History of the People. (Com- 
monwealth Series.) Boston: 1884. 

CooLEY, Thomas M. (See Joseph Story.) 

Correspondence of the American Revolution. Edited by Jared 
Sparks. 4 vols. Boston : 1853. 

Curtis, B, R. , Reports of Decisions in the Supreme Court of the 
United States. Boston : 1855. 

Curtis, George Ticknor, History of the Origin, Formation, and 
Adoption of the Constitution of the United States. 2 vols. 
London : 1854. 

Curtis, George Ticknor, Life of Daniel Webster. New York : 
1872. 

De Costa, B. F. (See William White.) 

Dickinson, John, The Political Writings of. 2 vols. Wilming- 
ton: 1801. 

Elliott, Jonathan, The Debates in the Several State Conven- 
tions, on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, etc. 5 vols. 
Philadelphia: 1876. 

Everett, Alexander H., Life of Patrick Henry. In Sparks' s 
Library of Am. Biography. 2d series, vol. i. Boston : 1 844. 

Frothingham, Richard, The Rise of the Republic of the United 
States. Boston: 1872. 

Gales, Joseph, The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of 
the United States. 2 vols. Washington : 1834. 

Gallatin, Albert. (S^e Henry Adams.) 

Garland, Hugh A. , The life of John Randolph, of Roanoke. 
2 vols. New York : 1860. 

GiBBS, George, Memoirs of the Administrations of Washington 



380 LIST OF PRINTED DOCUMENTS. 

and John Adams, edited from the Papers of Oliver Woleott. 
New York: 1846. 

GiRARDiN, Louis Hue. (See John Burk.) 

Gordon William, History of the Rise, Progress, and Establish- 
ment of the Independence of the United States of America ; in- 
cluding" an account of the Late War, and of the Thirteen 
Colonies from their origin to that period. 3 vols. New York : 
1789. 

Grigsby, Hugh Blair, The Virginia Convention of 1776. Rich- 
mond : 1855. 

Hamilton, Alexander, Works of. Edited by John C. Hamil- 
ton. 7 vols. New York: 1850-1851. 

Hansard, T. C, The Parliamentary History of England. Vol. 
xviii. London: 1813. 

Hawks, Francis L., Contributions to the Ecclesiastical History 
of the United States of America. Vol. i. New York : 1836. 

Hening, William Waller, The Statutes at Large : Being a 
Collection of all the Laws of Virginia. 13 vols. Richmond, 
New York, and Philadelphia : 1819-1823. 

Henry, Patrick, Life of. (See Wirt, William, and Everett, 
Alexnder H.) 

Henry, William Wirt, Character and Public Career of Patrick 
Henry. Pamphlet. Charlotte Courthouse, Va : 1867. 

Herring, James. (See National Portrait Gallery. ) 

HiLDRETH, Richard, The History of the United States of Amer- 
ica. 6 vols. New York: 1871-1874. 

The Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries, Concerning the 
Antiquities, History, and Biography of America. ( Henry B. 
Dawson.) Vol. ii. 2d series, and vol. ii. 3d series. Morrisania : 
1867, and 1873. 

Howe, Henry, Historical Collections of Virginia. Charleston : 
1845. 

HowisON, Robert R., A History of Virginia. Vol. i. Phila- 
delpliia : 1846. Vol. ii. Richmond, New York, and London : 
1848. 

Iredell, James, Life of. (See McRee, G. J.) 

Jay, William, The Life of John Jay. 2 vols. New York: 
1833. 

Jefferson, Thomas, Notes on the State of Virginia. Philadel- 
phia: 1825. 



LIST OF PRINTED DOCUMENTS. 381 

Jefferson, Thomas, The Writings o£. Ed. by H. A. Wash-'ng- 
ton. 9 vols. New York: 1853-1854. 

Jefferson, Thomas, Life of. (See H. S. Randall.) 

Jones, Skelton. (See John Burk.) 

Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of 
Virginia. (From 1777 to 1790.) 3 vols. Richmond: 1827- 
1828. 

Kennedy, John P., Memoirs of the Life of William Wirt. 2 
vols. Philadelphia : 1850. 

Lamb, General John, Memoir of. (See Leake, Isaac Q.) 

Lamb, Martha J. (See Magazine of American History.) 

Leake, Isaac Q., Memoir of the Life and Times of General 
John Lamb. Albany : 1850. 

Lee, Charles Carter. (See Lee, Henry, Observations, etc.) 

Lee, Henry, Observations on the Writings of Thomas Jeffer- 
son, with Particular Reference to the Attack they contain on 
the Memory of the late Gen. Henry Lee. In a series of Let- 
ters. Second ed., with an Introduction and Notes by Charles 
Carter Lee. Philadelphia : 1839. 

Lee, Richard Henry. (See Richard Henry Lee, 2d.) 

Lee, Richard Henry, 2d, Memoir of the Life of Richard 
Henry Lee. 2 vols. Philadelphia : 1825. 

Lee, Richard Henry, 2d, Life of Arthur Lee, LL. D. 2 vols. 
Boston: 1829. 

Leonard, Daniel. (See Novanglus, etc.) 

LoNGACRE, James B. (See National Portrait Gallery.) 

Mackay, . Charles, The Founders of the American Republic. 
Edinburgh and London : 1885. 

MacMaster, John Bach, History of the People of the United 
States. 2 vols. New York : 1883-1885. 

McRee, Griffith J., Life and Correspondence of James Ire- 
dell. 2 vols. New York: 1857-1858. 

Madison, James, The Papers of. 3 vols. Washington : 1840. 

Madison, James, Letters and Other Writings of. 4 vols. Phila- 
delphia: 1867. 

Madison, Jabies, Life and Times of. (See William C. Rives.) 

The Magazine of American History, with Notes and Queries. 

• Ed. by Martha J. Lamb. Vol xi. New York : 1884. 

Magruder, Allan B., John Marshall. (Am. Statesmen Se- 
ries.) Boston: 1885. 



382 LIST OF PRINTED DOCUMENTS. 

Marshall, John, The Life of George Washingtou. 5 vols. 
Philadelphia : 1804-1807. 

Marshall, John. (See Magruder, Allan B.) 

Maury, Ann, Memoirs of a Huguenot Family. New York: 
1872. 

Meade, William, Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Vir- 
ginia. 2 vols. Philadelphia: 1872. 

The National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, 
Conducted by James B. Longacre and James Herring. 2d 
vol. Philadelphia, New York, and London : 1835. 

Novanglus and Massachusettensis ; or. Political Essays Published 
in the years 1774 and 1775. Boston: 1819. 

Perry, William Stevens, Historical Collections relating to the 
American Colonial Church. Vol. i. Virginia, Hartford : 1870. 

Peyton, J. Lewis, History of Augusta County, Virginia. Staun- 
ton : 1882. 

Prior Documents. A Collection of Interesting, Authentic Papers, 
relative to the Dispute between Great Britain and America, 
Shewing the Causes and Progress of that Misunderstanding 
from 1764 to 1775. ( Almon. ) London : 1777. 

The Proceedings of the Convention of Delegates for the Counties 
and Corporations in the Colony of Virginia, Held at Richmond 
Town, in the County of Henrico, on the 20th of March, 1775. 
Richmond : 1816. 

Randall, Henry Stephens, The Life of Thomas Jefferson. 3 
vols. New York : 1858. 

Randolph, John. (See Adams, Henry, and Garland, Hugh A.) 

Reed, William B., Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed. 
2 vols. Philadelphia : 1847. 

Rives, William C, History of the Life and Times of James 
Madison. Boston : Vol. i. 2d ed. 1873. Vol. ii. 1870. Vol. iii. 
1868. 

Slaughter, Rev. Philip, A History of St. Mark's Parish 
Culpeper County, Virginia, n. p. 1877. 

Sparks, Jared. (See Corr. Am. Revolution, and Washington, 
Writings of.) 

Story, Joseph, Commentaries of the Constitution of the United 
States. Ed. by Thomas M. Cooley. 2 vols. Boston : 1873. 

Tyler, Lyon G., The Letters and Times of the Tylers. 2 vols. 
Richmond: 1884-1885. 



LIST OF PRINTED DOCUMENTS. 383 

The Virginia Historical Register, and Literary Note-Book. Vol. 

iii. Richmond : 1850. 
Virginia State Papers, Calendar of. Vol. ii. Richmond: 1881. 
Washington, George, The Writings of ; Being his Correspond- 
ence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and 
Private ; Selected and Pubhshed from the Original Manuscripts, 
with a Life of the Author, Notes, and Illustrations. Edited 
by Jared Sparks. 12 vols. Boston and New York : 1834- 
1847. 
Washington, George, Life of. (See John Marshall.) 
Washington, H. A. (See Jefferson, Thomas, Writings of.) 
Webster, Daniel, Life of. (See Geo. Ticknor Curtis.) 
Wells, William V., The life and Public Services of Samuel 

Adams. 3 vols. Boston : 1865 
White, William, Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in the United States of America. Ed. by B. F. De Costa. New 
York: 1880. 
Wirt, William, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick 
Henry. Third ed. , Corrected by the Author. Philadelphia : 
1818. 
Wirt, William, Life of. (See Kennedy, John P.) 
Wise, Henry A., Seven Decades of the Union. Philadelphia: 
1872. 



INDEX. 



Adams, John, 10, 96, 166, 216, 360; 
liis intimacy with Henry in 1774, 11 ; 
mentions Henry's limited knowl- 
edge of Latin, 11 ; his recognition 
of Henry's early fame, 78-79 ; goes 
to first continental congress, 90 ; 
describes social life of its members, 
92-95; speeches in this congress, 
96, 98, 99 ; his memoranda of 
proceedings in congress, 98-101 ; 
103, lOi, 105 ; describes Henry's 
speeches, 98-100 ; 103 ; on commit- 
tee for address to tlie king, 101-105 
note ; his impression of Henry in 
congress, 109-110 ; his parting in- 
terview with Henry, 110-111 ; reads 
Major Hawley's letter, 111 ; his 
military aspirations, 136 ; in second 
continental congress, 152, 154 •, de- 
ference for the example of Virginia, 
177 ; his " Tlioughts on Govern- 
ment," 178 ; Henry's admiration 
for, 180; letter from Henry, 181- 
182; his reply to Henry, 182-183; 
personal and political harmony with 
Henry, 353-354 ; some political 
events of his presidency, 363-3G4 ; 
appoints Henry as envoy to France, 
367 ; his admuiistration commended 
by Henry, 368 ; partisan attacks on 
his administration, 369 ; a dying 
blessing from Henry, 376. 

Adams, Samuel, 93, 166 ; member first 
contuiental congress, 96 ; in second 
continental congress, 152 ; doubtful 
respecting new constitution, 294. 

Alexander, Rev. Archibald, his anal- 
ysis of Henry's genius and methods 
as an advocate, 329-330 ; his anec- 
dotes of Henry's eloquence as a 
criminal lawyer, 330-335. 

Alsop, John, in second continental 
congress, 152, 153. 

Arnold, Benedict, mvades Virginia in 
1781, 248. 

Atherton, Joshua, opposed to new 
constitution, 294. 

25 



Atkinson, Roger, describes Virginia 
delegates in first continental con- 
gress, 90-91. 

Aylett, Mrs. Betsy, letter to, from 
her father, Patrick Henry, 361-362. 

Baker, Counsellor, precedes Henry in 
British debt cause, 322. 

Baptists in Virginia, petition for re- 
ligious liberty in 1776, 185 ; rejoice 
over election of Henry as governor, 
191-192 ; Henry's reply to their 
congratulations, 192-193. 

Bernard, Sir Francis, governor of 
Massachusetts, describes the effect 
of the Virginia resolves agamst 
Stamp Act, 73. 

Bill of rights, necessity for, in new 
constitution, 289-292 ; Virginia's de- 
mand for, 295. 

Blair, Archibald, Henry's letter to, 
on the political condition of America 
and France, 364-367. 

Blair, John, 82 ; in Virginia conven- 
tion of 1776, 187. 

Bland, Richard, 84, 88 ; on commit- 
tee for message against Stamp Act, 
58 ; opposes Henry's policy on the 
subject, 59, 63 ; described by Atkin- 
son, 91 ; goes to first continental 
congress, 94 ; his enthusiasm tliere- 
for, 94 ; his part in second day's 
debate, 100 ; opposes Henry in 
second Virginia convention, 121 ; 
on important committees in same 
convention, 134 ; in Virginia con- 
vention of 1776, 168 ; on committee 
for drafting state constitution, 177. 

Bland, Theodorick, opposed to new 
constitution, 285 ; presents to con- 
gress Virginia's appeal for a new 
convention, 315. 

Bloodworth, Timothy, opposed to new 
constitution, 294. 

Boston port bill, news of, received by 
Virginia, 86-87. 

Braxton, Carter, of aristocratic party 



386 



INDEX. 



in Virginia, 178 ; recommends pam- 
phlet in favor of aristocratic state 
governments, 179, 180^ 182. 

British debt cause, tlie question at 
issue, 320-321 ; trials of, 321-327. 

Brougham, Lord, kinsman of Patrick 
Henry, 3. 

Burk, John Daly, historian of Vir- 
ginia, his 4th vol. written by Girar- 
din, 199. 

Burke, ^danus, opposed to new con- 
stitution, 294. 

Butler, Bishop Joseph, his " Analo- 
gy " Henry's favorite book, 17-18 ; 
349 ; an edition of the " Analogy " 
published by Henry for private dis- 
tribution, 351. 

Byrd, William, of Westover, describes 
Sarah Syme, 1-2. 

Cabell, Dr. , Patrick Henry's 

friend and physician, 376-377. 

Campbell, Alexander, Henry's asso- 
ciate in British debt cause, 321. 

Carrington, Clement, son of Paul, in- 
forms Grigsby of Henry's real mili- 
tary defect, 165. 

Carrington, Edward, letter to Jeffer- 
son concerning Henry's views on 
new constitution, 282. 

Carrington, Paul, walks away from 
Williamsburg with Henry, 66 ; in 
Virginia convention of 1776, and on 
committee for drafting state con- 
stitution, 177. 

Carter, Charles, of Stafford, in second 
Virginia convention, 134. 

Carter, Landon, on committee for 
message against Stamp Act, 58 ; dis- 
parages Virginia convention of 
1776, 168-1G9 ; letter to Washington 
sneering at Henry, 196-197. 

Cary, Archibald, in second Virginia 
convention, 134 ; in Virginia con- 
vention of 1776, 168 ; on committee 
to draft state constitution, 177 ; re- 
ports to convention plan of con- 
stitution, 185 ; his violent threat to 
Henry with reference to alleged 
dictatorship, 200; another version 
of his remark, 207. 

Chase, Samuel, member first conti- 
nental congress, 90 ; his impression 
of Lee and Henry as legislators, 
105-106 ; opposed to new constitu- 
tion, 294. 

Chatham, Lord, praises papers of lirst 
continental congress, 104 ; death, 
213. 

Christian, William, on committee for 
arming Virginia militia, 134 ; his 
flight from Tarleton, 251-252. 



Clapham, Josias, in eeeond Virginia 
convention, 134. 

Clark, George Rogers, his expedition 
into Illinois, and its success, 229-231 ; 
235. 

Clergy of Virginia, legislation respect- 
ing their salaries, 32-39 ; their law- 
suits for recovery of salaries, 39-49. 

Clinton, George, opposed to new con- 
stitution, 294. 

Collier, Sir George, his expedition into 
Virginia with Matthews in 1779, 
229, 235-238. 

Congress, f.rst continental, demanded 
by Virginia, 87-89 ; its leading mem- 
bers described, 90-95 ; social life 
among its members, 92-95 ; first 
meeting, 95-98 ; first discusses ques- 
tions of procedure, 96-101 ; its work 
from Sept. 5 to Oct. 26, 101-111 ; 
appoints Charles Thomson secretary, 
95-97 ; mode of voting, 95-101 ; re- 
jects Galloway's plan, 102-103 ; its 
state papers, their ability, by whom 
prepared, 104-105 ; Wirt's treat- 
ment of, lOG-109 ; its intimation as 
to the danger of war, 114 ; second 
continental, secrecy in its proceed- 
ings, 148, 151 ; Henry's deportment 
and influence in, 148-155 ; great 
questions before it, 150-151 ; its 
flight from Philadelphia in 1776, 204. 

Constitution of United States, strug- 
gle in Virginia over its adoption, 
279-301 ; Henry's criticism upon, 
285-296 ; method for amendments, 
302-304 ; struggle to secure first ten 
amendments, 304-317. 

Conway, General Thomas, his cabal 
for the displacement of Washington, 
215-223 ; praised in anonymous let- 
ter to Henry, 217 ; mentioned by 
Washington as a malignant partisan, 
223. 

Cootes, , merchant of James River, 

his love for Henry, and his lament 
over Henry's speech in the Parsons' 
Cause, 52-53. 

Corbin, Francis, supports Madison in 
convention of 1788, 285. 

Cornwallis, Lord, invades Virginia in 
1781, 248 ; 249 ; his surr(>iider, 256. 

Gushing, Thomas, in second continen- 
tal congress, 153. 

Dandridge, Bartholomew, in Virginia 

convention of 1776, 187. 
Dandridge, Dorothea, second wife of 

Henry, 214. 
Dandridge, Colonel Nathan, 7. 
Dandridge, Nathaniel West, contests 

the seat of Littlepage, 54. 



INDEX. 



387 



Dawson, John, supports Henry in con- 
vention of 1788, 285. 

Deane, Silas, in second continental 
congress, 152, 153. 

Dickinson, John, member of first con- 
tinental congress, 93 ; enters con- 
gress Oct. 17, 104 ; prepares final 
draft of address to the king, 104 ; 
in 1774 expresses expectation of 
war, 114, 115. 

Dictatorship in Virginia, project for, 
in 1776, 197-208; project for, in 
1781, 254-250. 

Digges, Dudley, in Virginia conven- 
tion of 177G, 1G8 ; on committee for 
drafting state constitution, 177 ; on 
committee to notify Hein-y of his 
election as governor, 187. 

Dresser, Rev. Charles, reports testi- 
mony of widow of Henry, respecting 
the latter's religious character and 
habits, 349-350. 

Duane, James, member first con- 
tinental congress, 96 ; moves for 
committee to prepare rules, 96 ; in 
second continental congress, 152. 

Dunmore, Lord, 119, 138, 145; dis- 
solves house of burgesses. May 26, 
1774, 86 ; his officers pass resolution 
for defence of American liberty, 
116 ; describes military preparations 
in Vii-ginia, 117 ; his part in the 
affair of the gunpowder, 138-143 ; 
issues proclamation against Henry, 
143-144 ; his supposed intention to 
arrest Henry, 147 ; his military con- 
duct in autunm of 1775, 157-158 ; 
succeeded in the palace by Henry, 
189. 

Ellsworth, Oliver, appointed envoy to 
France m 1799, 367. 

Fauquier, Governor Francis, de- 
nomices Henry for his course against 
Stamp Act, 77. 

Fleming, John, a confidential associ- 
ate of Henry in policy against Stamp 
Act, 61. 

Fontaine, Edward, 132 ; gives Roane's 
description of Henry's speech for 
arming militia, 129-132. 

Fontaine, Mrs. Martha, last letter 
from her father, Patrick Henry. 
376. 

Fontaine, Colonel Patrick Henrj', 
eldest grandson of Henry, 14 ; ex- 
amined by his grandfather in Latin 
and Greek, 14 ; mentions his grau'l- 
father's conversation in Latin with 
a French visitor, 14 ; describes his 
grandfather's preparation for Brit- 



ish debt cause, 321-322 ; testimony 
concerning Henry's habits in pri- 
vate life, 314-347 ; also concerning 
Henry's religiouo character and 
habits, 348-350. 

Force, Peter, editor of American Ar- 
chives, prints some official letters of 
Henry, 214 note. 

France, American alliance with, advo- 
cated by Henry as preliminary to 
declaration of independence, 171, 
175-176 ; the alliance considered by 
General Charles Lee, 172-173 ; fidel- 
ity to, insisted upon by Henry, 227 ; 
copies of treaty of alliance with, 
sent to Henry, 232 ; its effect on re- 
ligious thought in America deplored 
by Henry, 350; Monroe recalled 
from, in 1797, 363 ; American ex- 
citement against, in 1798, 363. 

Franklin, Benjamin, in second conti- 
nental congress, 154. 

French revolution, its influence on 
Henry's political opinions, 353-354 ; 
some disasters from, predicted by 
Henry, 365. 

Gadsden, Christopher, of South Caro- 
lina, member first continental con- 
gress, 93, 96 ; speaks in second day's 
debate, 100; in second continental 
congress, 154. 

Gage, General Thomas, describes the 
effects of the Virginia resolves 
against Stamp Act, 73. 

Gallatin, Albert, his alleged conversa- 
tion in Latin with Henry, 15. 

Galloway, Joseph, member of first 
continental congress, 96 ; meets 
John Adams, 94 ; his Plan of recon- 
cihation with Great Britain, 102- 
103. 

Gates, General Horatio, cabal for dis- 
placement of Washington, 215 ; ex- 
tolled in anonymous letter to Henry, 
217 ; as military rival of "Washing- 
ton, 222-223 ; tribute from Virginia 
ha 1780, 247-248. 

Genet, Edmond Charles, his proceed- 
ings coimived at by democratic 
clubs, 354. 

Gerry, Elbridge, opposed to new con- 
stitution, 294; founder of gerry- 
mandering in Massachusetts, 312. 

Gerrymandering, anticipated in Vir- 
ginia by Henry, 313. 

Girardin, Louis Hue, writes 4th vol. of 
Burk's "History of Virginia," 199; 
his pupilage to Jefferson, 199; 
names Henry as intended dictator in 
1776, 119 ; names Henry in connec- 
tion with dictatorship in 1781, 254. 



388 



INDEX. 



Gordon, Rev. William, author of 
" History of American Revolution," 
gives account of the first publication 
of Henry's resolutions agamst Stamp 
Act, 71-72. 

Grayson, "William, opposed to new 
constitution, 285; elected senator 
from Virginia, 312. 

Greene, General Nathaniel, beaten by 
Cornwallis at Guildford, 248 ; 
named for dictator in Virginia, 255. 

Grigsby, Hugh Blair, 165; describes 
as apocryphal Wirt's version of 
Henry's speech for arming militia, 
132; his estimate of Henry's mili- 
tary character, 1C6. 

Hamilton, Alexander, advocates mag- 
nanimous treatment of the defeated 
loyalists, 258; letter from Madison 
respecting Henry's agitation against 
new constitution, 306 ; his financial 
measures at first offensive to Henry, 
354. 
Hamilton, Colonel Henry, as governor 

of Detroit, 231. 
Hancock, John, his military aspira- 
tions, 135-136 ; doubtful respecting 
new constitution, 294. 
Hardwicke, Lord, declares Virginia 

option law invalid, 39. 
Harrison, Benjamin, on committee for 
message against Stamp Act, 58; 
member of first continental con- 
gress, 88, 94 ; his convivialities 
there, 95 ; opposes Henry in second 
Virginia convention, 121 ; on impor- 
tant committees in same convention, 
134 ; enters Virginia convention, 
155 ; his flight from Tarleton, 251, 
252 ; his disapproval of new consti- 
tution, 284 ; supports Henry in con- 
vention of 17S8, 285 ; his letter to 
Washington deprecating new consti- 
tution, 287. 
Henry, John, father of Patrick Henrj', 
2 ; his education and cliaracter, 2 ; 
his distinguished Scotch relatives, 
2-3. 
Henry, The Rev. Patrick, rector of 
St. Paul's, Hanover, uncle of the 
orator, 5 ; teaches his nephew Latin 
and Greek, 5 ; 13, 14 ; requested to 
absent himself from the trial of the 
Parsons' Cause, 51. 
Henrj', Patricia, his birth, 2 ; paternal 
relatives, 2-3; his mother described 
by Byrd, 1-2 ; his education, 4-5 ; 
fails in trade, 5-6 ; marries Sarah 
Skelton, 6 ; becomes a planter, and 
fails, 5 ; returns to merchandise, and 
fails, 6-7 ; his embarrassments, 7-8 ; 



his youthful vivacity, 7 ; first ac- 
quaintance with Jefferson, 7-8 ; his 
alleged illiteracy, 9-19 ; his pronun- 
ciation, 9-10; his knowledge of 
Latin and Greek, 11-15 ; as a reader 
of books, 10, 11; 17, 18; liis com- 
mand of language, 12-13 ; his char- 
acteristics as a youth, 16-18 ; a stu- 
dent of Butler's "Analogy" and 
the Bible, 17, 18; his qualifications 
for the law, 18, 19 ; his study of the 
law, 20 ; his examination for admis- 
sion to the bar, 20-23 ; returns to 
Hanover to practise law, 23-31 ; 
lives at his father-in-law's tavern, 
23 ; his early practise and legal at- 
tainments misrepresented by Jeffer- 
son and Wirt, 24-29; his fondness 
for hunting, 26-27 ; his speech in 
"the Parsons' Cause," 40-49; his 
apology to Maury, 49-51 ; his rever- 
ence for Christianity, 50; his ge- 
niality, 51-52; his popularity in 
Virginia, 52-53; his speech in the 
Parsons' Cause mcreases his law- 
practice, 53; his speech at Wil- 
liamsburg in the case of Littlepage 
against Dandridge, 54-55 ; becomes 
member of the house of burgesses 
for Louisa County, 55 ; his first 
speech there, 56-57 ; his resolutions 
against tlie Stamp Act and speeches 
in support of same, 57-G8 ; his neg- 
lect of records of his doings, 69-70 ; 
takes pains to record his authorship 
of the Stamp Act resolutions, 69- 
76 ; his course against the Stamp 
Act denounced by Gov. Fauquier 
and the Rev. W. Robinson, 77-78; 
earliest associations with his name 
in England, 78 ; his early reputation 
in Virginia and in the other colonies, 
78-79; takes the lead of political 
opinion in Virginia, 79 ; settles at 
Roundabout and at Scotchtown, 81 ; 
law practice from 17G5 to 1774, 81- 
84 ; as an admiralty lawyer, 82-83 ; 
takes the practice of R. C. Nicholas, 
83 ; his standing at the bar, 83-84 ; 
his political history from 1765 to 
1774, 84-89 ; as a political leader in 
Virginia, 87 ; appointed delegate to 
first continental congress, 88 ; his 
journey to first continental congress, 
90 ; his oratory heralded by his as- 
sociates, 90 ; his character described 
by Roger Atkinson, 90-91 ; Charles 
Thomson's account of his first 
speech, 97 ; John Adams's account 
of same, 98 ; his speeches on second 
day, 99-101 ; member of committee 
on colonial trade and manufactures, 



INDEX. 



389 



101 ; siiare in debates of this con- 
gress, 101-103; opposes Galloway's 
plan, 102-103; on committee for 
address to the king, 104-105 ; also 
on committee to state the rights of 
the colonies, 105 ; his practical abil- 
ity, 105-106 ; his standing in this 
congress misrepresented by Wirt 
and Jefferson, 106-109 ; first speech 
described by Wirt, 106-107 ; impres- 
sion made on associates in congress, 
109-110; parting interview with John 
Adams, 110-111 ; avoidance of pro- 
fanity, HI ; his mother's allusion to 
him in 1774, 112 ; fame of his speech 
for arming Virginia militia, 113; 
his resolutions for that purpose, 
118-119 ; political significance of 
those resolutions, 113-123; his 
speech, 123-128; two traditional 
descriptions of the speech, 128- 
132 ; authenticity of the version 
here given, 132-133 ; chairman of 
committee for arming tlie militia, 
133-134; also on two other impor- 
tant committees of the same conven- 
tion, 134 ; his early military reputa- 
tion overshadowed by his fame as 
orator and statesman, 137-138 ; 
commits first overt act of war in 
Virginia, 137 ; ralhes militia to re- 
claim gunpowder seized by Dun- 
more, 139-142 ; his receipt for pay- 
ment for gunpowder, 142 ; offers to 
protect the colonial treasury, 142- 
143 ; is denounced by proclamation 
of Lord Dunmore, 143-144; his 
course objected to by many conser- 
vative Virginians, 144-145 ; sus- 
tained by the mass of the people, 
145-140 ; his journey to the second 
continental congress, 147 ; in sec- 
ond continental congress, 148-155 ; 
his bearing and influence therein, 
described oy Jefferson, 148-149 ; 
criticism upon Jefferson's testi- 
mony, 149-154 ; his mterest in the 
business of this congress, 150-151; 
his activity in committee work, 151- 
154; his letter to Washington on 
last day of the session, 154 ; returns 
to Virginia and enters convention, 
155 ; turns over gunpowder to Vir- 
ginia, 155 ; is thanked by Virginia 
for his services in congress, 155 ; 
appointed commander-in-chief of the 
forces in Virginia, 155-156 ; limits 
upon his authority, 156 ; fixes site 
of military headquarters, 156 ; is 
restrained by committee of safety 
from all active service in tlie field, 
158-159 ; resigns his military ap- 



pointments, 159 ; grief and indigna- 
tion of his officers and men, 159-162 ; 
his military capacity distrusted by 
some, 163-104 ; his real fault as a 
military man, 164-165 ; his military 
courage and enterprise, 165, 167 ; 
his wife's death, 167 ; return to 
civil life, 167-168 ; in Virginia con- 
vention of 1776, 168-188 ; his friends 
hostile to Pendleton, 169 ; his part 
in committee work of convention, 
169-170 ; his caution respecting in- 
dependence, 171 ; letter on the sub- 
ject from General Charles Lee, 172- 
173 ; advocates independence with 
desire for prior attainment of con- 
federation and foreign alliances, 
174-176 ; writes to R. H. Lee and to 
John Adams on the subject, 175- 
176 ; on committee to prepare new 
constitution for Virginia, 177 ; fears 
aristocratic tendencies of the com- 
mittee, 178-182 ; explains situation 
in Virginia to R. H. Lee and J. 
Adams, 180-183; letter from John 
Adams, 182-183 ; writes 15th and 
16th articles of declaration of rights, 
183-185; elected first governor of 
state of Virginia, 186 ; his letter of 
acceptance, 187-188 ; takes oath of 
office, 189 ; resides in the palace at 
Williamsburg, 189 ; congratulations 
from his former troops, 189-190; 
also from General Charles Lee, 190- 
191 ; also from tlie Baptists, 191- 
192 ; his reply to the latter, 192-193; 
first mention of ill health, 193 ; re- 
moval of his family from Hanover, 
193 ; his dignified bearing as gov- 
ernor, 194 ; retires to the country 
on account of illness, 195 ; advice 
from Washington respecting mili- 
tary defence of Virginia, 195-196; 
sneered at by Landon Carter, 196- 
197 ; the project for a dictatorship 
in Virginia for 1776, 197-208 ; issues 
proclamation for more vigorous 
measures, 208 ; his services in as- 
sisting General Washington, 208- 
209 ; sends secret messenger to 
Washington's camp, 209 ; explains 
to Washington the difficulty of rais- 
ing troops in Virgmia, 210-211 ; his 
letter accepting governorship for 
the second time, 211-212 ; chief 
public occurrences during his second 
year as governor, 213 ; his marriage y^ 
to Dorothea Dandridge, 214 ; the 
pressure of official duties, 214 ; his 
relation to the Conway cabal, 215- 
223 ; receives anonymous letter hos- 
tile to Washmgton, 215-218 ; trans- 



390 



INDEX. 



mits it to Washington with two let- 
ters from himself, 218-220 ; Wash- 
ington's two letters in reply, 220- 
223 ; deep friendship between Henry 
and Washington, 223-224 ; two let- 
ters to R. H. Lee, 224-227 ; extraor- 
dinary powers twice conferred upon 
him in 1778, 228 ; elected governor 
third time, and his letter of ac- 
knowledgment, 228 ; public events 
during his third term, 229 ; success 
of his expedition into Illinois under 
George Rogers Clark, 229-231 ; his 
letter to the president of congress 
respecting the military situation, 
232-234; letter to Washington on 
same subject, 234-235 ; sends to 
congress news of British invasion of 
Virginia, 235-237 ; his proclamation 
to Virginia respecting this invasion, 
237; additional letter to congress 
on same subject, 238 ; declines re- 
election as governor for fourth year, 
238-239 ; acknowledges complimen- 
tary resolutions of the legislature, 
240 ; Theophilus Bland's sneer at 
his executive abilities, 240 ; opposite 
opinion expressed by Washington 
and by Virginia legislature, 240- 
241 ; royal title conferred by the 
French allies, 242 ; liis retirement 
in 1779, 242 ; declines election to 
congress in same year, 242 ; his re- 
moval to Leatherwood and resi- 
dence there from 1779 to 1784, 243 ; 
his despondent letter to Jefferson in 
1780, 244-245 ; delegate to Virginia 
legislature from Henry County, and 
services in that body from 1780 till 
November, 1784, 245-262; his elo- 
quence in the legislature, 262-2G5 ; 
traditions respecting his flight with 
the legislature from the Britisli, 
249-254 ; unfounded charge respect- 
ing dictatorship in 1781, 254-256 ; 
his liberality to the defeated loyal- 
ists, 257-260 ; advocates freedom of 
trade, 260; his advanced views re- 
specting the Indian question, 260- 
262 ; antagonizes public opinion by 
his measures respecting religion, 
2G2 ; his courage as a politician, 
262 ; the ordinary misconception of 
his motives for opposing constitu- 
tion of United States, 266 ; death of 
his mother in 17K4, 267 ; residence 
of his family near Richmond from 
1784 to 1786, 267 ; his style of living, 
267-268 ; his friendly correspon- 
dence with Washington, 268-269; 
his final retirement from the gov- 
ernorship, 269-270 ; removes to 



Prince Edward County, 270 ; sent by 
that county to the legislature, 270 ; 
his tendency toward federal ideas, 
271-273 ; this tendency checked and 
reversed by the project for surren- 
dering to Spain the Mississippi, 273- 
277 ; declines appointment to Phila- 
delphia convention for revising con- 
stitution, 276-277 ; the motive for 
his anti-federalism described by 
Madison, Edmund Randolph, and 
Marshall, 277-278 ; anxiety of public 
men on account of his hostility to 
strengthening the confederation, 
277-278 ; receives from Washington 
copy of new constitution, 279-280 ; 
consents to call of state convention 
to consider same, 280 ; anxiety of 
Washington, Madison, and others 
respecting Henry's opposition, 280- 
283 ; his political metliods censured 
by president Smith, 283 ; leads op- 
position in Virginia convention of 
1788, 284-301 ; his principal sup- 
porters, 285 ; his activity in debate, 
286 ; evidence of intellectual power, 
286-287 ; not a disunionist, 287-288 ; 
objects to new constitution as ex- 
ceeding the powers delegated to the 
convention, 288-289 ; objects to its 
failure to protect states and individ- 
uals, 289-292 ; danger from implied 
powers, 291-292 ; his criticism of 
the constitution in detail, especially 
as regards the executive, 292-294; 
his fear of danger to popular rights 
and liberties, 294 ; his strategic pol- 
icy in Virginia convention, 295 ; his 
pacific declaration at close of con- 
vention, 296-297 ; high character of 
his eloquence in Virginia conven- 
tion, 297-301 ; denounced by Ran- 
dolph for unparliamentary conduct, 
298-299 ; scornfully treated by Gen- 
eral Stephen, 299 ; irregularity and 
variety of his arguments against the 
constitution, 298-299; the thunder- 
storm scene in the convention, 299- 
301 ; his after-fight for amendments, 
302-317 ; his reason for urging pre- 
vious amendments to the constitu- 
tion, 302-303 ; his policy in agitat- 
ing for amendments after adoption, 
303-304 ; his letter to General John 
Lamb respecting policy of opposi- 
tion, 304-306 ; his pacific promise in 
convention reported by Madison 
and Washington, 306-307 ; encour- 
aged by New York circular letter to 
agitate for iiinuediate amendments, 
307-308 ; his control of Virginia leg- 
islature in 1788, 308; his measures 



INDEX. 



391 



to secure immediate amendments 
adopted by legislature, 308-315 ; 
writes Virginia's appeal to congress 
for a national convention, 309-311 ; 
opposes election of Madison as sena- 
tor, and secures election of R. H. Lee 
and Grayson, 312, 313 ; anticipates 
in Virginia the practice of gerry- 
mandering, 313 ; censured for these 
proceedings by Tobias Lear, 314- 
315; fails to defeat Madison for 
congress, 315 ; tlie effect of his lead- 
ership in securing first ten amend- 
ments to constitution, 315-317 ; re- 
simies practice of the law in 1786, 
on account of poverty, 318-319 ; in 
1794, retires with a fortune, 319 ; 
great demand for his professional 
services, 319 ; extent and variety of 
his practice, 319-320 ; his part in 
the British debt cause, 320-327 ; his 
laborious preparation for the argu- 
ment, 321-322 ; his first argument 
in the cause m 1791, 322-324 ; his 
second argument in 1793, 324 -327 ; 
analysis of his genius and methods 
as an advocate, 327-330; instances 
of his power as an advocate given 
by Dr. Alexander, 330-335; by 
Judge Roane, 335-337 ; and by Con- 
rad Speece, 337-340 ; goes into re- 
tirement in 1794, 341 ; his final set- 
tlement at Red Hill in 1795, 341 ; 
his acquisition of fortune, 341-342 ; 
description of his home at Red Hill, 
342-343 ; his character and disposi- 
tion in private life, 343-344; scur- 
rilous attacks upon him, 344; his 
habits as to diet, stimulants, and 
tobacco, 344-345; his elocutionary 
morning exercise, 345-346 ; his prin- 
ciples and practice as regards slav- 
ery, 346-347 ; his manner of receiv- 
ing visitors, 347-348 ; his modesty 
in referring to his own achieve- 
ments, 348; his occupations in 
retirement, 348-349; his favorite 
books, music, etc., 349; his reli- 
gious character and habits, 349-352 ; 
his attention to contemporary 
events, 352 ; his opinions respecting 
the French revolution, 353-354 ; 
progress of his opinions respecting 
the constitution and the federal 
government, 354 ; Iredell's testi- 
mony concerning his moderation 
and liberality, 355 ; his reconcilia- 
tion with Washington, 355-358 ; ap- 
pointed United States senator in 
1794 and declines, 355 ; declines of- 
fice of secretary of state under 
Washington, 358-359 ; declines office 



of chief justice of United States, 
359-360 ; is considered for the vice- 
presidency, 360 ; is sneered at by 
Jefferson for these overtures, 361 ; 
letter to his daughter denying any 
change of political opinion, 361-362 ; 
elected governor of Virginia for the 
sixth time and declines, 362 ; his 
letter to Blair on the public situation 
early in 1799, 364-367 ; declines presi- 
dent Adams's appointment as one of 
the three envoys to France, 367- 
368 ; Washington's appeal to liim to 
enter the legislature, 368-370; his 
last public appearance, 370-375 ; his 
last illness and death, 376-377. 

Henry, William Wirt, grandson of 
Patrick Henry, 25, 03 note ; 76 note ; 
his opinion as to his grandfather's 
practice as a lawyer, 29. 

Holt, James, iu second Virginia con- 
vention, 134. 

Hopkins, Stephen, member first con- 
tinental congress, 96 ; in second con- 
tinental congress, 154. 

Howe, Gen. Robert, takes command 
of Virginia forces, and slights Hen- 
ry, 159. 

Howe, Gen. Sir William, 216; letter 
from Lord Dunmore, 157-158 ; ab- 
stains from aggressive action in the 
spring of 1777, 208. 

Independence, advocated by General 
Charles Lee, 170-173; conflict of 
opinions about the time of its de- 
claration, 171 ; Henry favors its 
postponement until after confedera- 
tion and foreign alliances, 171-176 ; 
Virginia instructs its delegates for, 
174 ; the measure advocated by Hen- 
ry, 174 ; enthusiasm for, in Virginia, 
176. 

Innes, James, supports Madison in 
convention of 1788, 285; Henry's 
associate in British debt cause, 321. 

Iredell, James, sits in British debt 
cause, 324 ; his impression of Henry 
as an orator, 324-325; his compli- 
ment to Henry's argument, 326- 
327 ; describes Henry's moderation 
and liberality in 1793, 355. 

Jay, Jolm, 166; member first conti- 
nental congress, 96 ; speaks in sec- 
ond day's debate, 100 ; presents to 
congress project for surrendering 
the Mississippi, 273-274 ; presides in 
British debt cause, 324 ; describes 
Henry as the greatest of orators, 
325: conversations with Henry in 
1793, 355. 



392 



INDEX. 



Jefferson, Thomas, 82, 83, 284, 362 ; 
first acqunintaiice with Henry, 7-8 ; 
describes Henry's pronunciation, 9 ; 
and limited reading, 11-12; his two 
accounts of Henry's legal examina- 
tion, 20-21 ; describes Henry as a 
barkeeper, 23 ; and as ignorant of 
the law and negligent in its prac- 
tice, 26-29 ; describes Henry's speech 
against tlie public loan office, 57 ; 
describes Henry's eloquence against 
Stamp Act, 63-64 ; attributes the 
Virginia resolves, first, to Johnston, 
and, afterward, to Henry, 75 note ; 
asserts that Henry's course against 
Stamp Act placed him in advance of 
the old leaders in Virginia, 79 ; his 
disparagement of Henry as a law- 
yer, 83-84 ; in Virginia politics, 84 ; 
ascribes to Henry first overt act of 
war in Virginia, 137 ; describes Hen- 
ry's bearing and influence in second 
continental congress, 148-149; this 
testimony criticised, 149-154 ; en- 
ters second continental congi'ess, 
152 ; returns to Virginia and enters 
convention, 155 ; leader of party of 
progress in Virginia, 178 ; account 
of alleged project for a dictatorship 
in Virginia in 1776, 197-200 ; historic 
value of this testimony, 206-208; 
receives extraordinary powers as 
governor, 201 ; first elected gov- 
ernor of Virginia, June, 1779, 239 ; 
reference to his executive abilities 
by Bland, 240; despondent letter 
from Henry in 1780, 243-245 ; his 
story of the dictatorship in 1781, 
254-256 ; his flight from the British 
in 1781, 254 ; receives letters re- 
specting Henry's approval of a 
stronger confederation, 272-273 ; 
also concerning political effects of 
project for surrendering the Missis- 
sippi, 274-275 ; letters from Madison 
concerning Henry's opposition to 
new constitution, 280-281, 282 ; let- 
ter from Carrington on same sub- 
ject, 282 ; expresses alarm over new 
constitution, 284, 294-295 ; letter 
from Madison respecting Henry's 
agitation for immediate amend- 
ments, 307-308 ; his accusation re- 
specting Henry's business transac- 
tions, 342 ; his political separation 
from Waslungton, 354 ; his sneer at 
federalist compliments to Henry, 
301 ; his letter to Mazzei, 363 ; au- 
thor of Kentucky resolutions, 363. 
Jenyms, Soame, his " View of the In- 
ternal Evidence of Christianity," 



printed by Henry for private distri- 
bution, 351. 

Johnson, Thomas, member of first 
continental congress, on committee 
for address to the king, 104; op- 
poses Pendleton for president of 
Virginia convention of 1776, 169. 

Johnston, George, in confidential re- 
lations with Henry respecting his 
resolutions against Stamp Act, 61 ; 
his ability as a debater, 64 ; on im- 
portant committees in second Vir- 
ginia convention, 134. 

Johnstone, Gov. George, on British 
commission to treat with Americana 
in 1778, 227. 

Jones, William, complainant in Brit- 
ish debt cause, 320. 

Jouette, Captain John, warns Vir- 
ginia legislature of Tarleton's ap- 
proach, 249-251. 

Kentucky Resolutions, 3G3-364. 

King, address to the, by first conti- 
nental congress, 104-105 ; its author- 
ship misstated by Wirt and Jeffer- 
son, 108-109. 

Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, Indian mis- 
sionary, receives proposals from sec- 
ond continental congress, 153. 

Lamb, Gen. John, letter from Henry 
on opposition to new constitution, 
304-306. 

Langdon, John, in second continental 
congress, 154. 

Lear, Tobias, letter respecting Hen- 
ry's leadership in Virginia legisla- 
ture, 314-315. 

Lee, Gen. Charles, describes military 
preparations in the colonies in 1774, 
115 ; appointed second major gen- 
eral, 152 ; praises Virginia conven- 
tion of 1776, 170-171 ; urges on 
Henry immediate declaration of in- 
dependence, 170-173 ; congratulates 
Henry on his election as governor, 
190-191 ; riclicule of American cant 
in titles, 190-191 ; extolled in an 
anonymous letter to Henry, 217. 

Lee, Henry, in Virginia convention of 
1776, 177 ; on committee for draft- 
ing state constitution, 177 ; on com- 
mittee to notify Henrj^ of his elec- 
tion as governor, 187 : supports 
Madison in convention of 1788, 285 ; 
as governor of Virginia appoints 
Henry U. S. senator" in 1794, 355; 
his efforts for reconciliation between 
Washington and Henry, 355-358; 
authorized by Washington to invite 



INDEX. 



393 



Henry to become chief justice of U. 
S., 359-360. 

Lee, Richard Henry, 88 ; on commit- 
tee for message against the Stamp 
Act, 58 ; as a leader in Virginia pol- 
itics, 84 ; as the Cicero of the age, 
90 ; goes to first continental con- 
gress, 94; his convivialities there, 
94-95 ; absent from first meeting, 
99 note ; speaks second day, 101 ; 
chairman of committee for address 
to the king, 104 ; prepares first 
draft of address, 104; alleged ef- 
fect of his first speeches, 105, 106, 
108; on important committees in 
second Virginia convention, 134 ; in 
second continental congress, 152 ; 
letter from Henry, 175, 180-181 ; 
leader of party of progress in Vir- 
ginia, 178 ; accused of favoring Con- 
way cabal, 215, 225 ; his loss of 
popularity in Virginia, 224-225 ; two 
letters from Henry, 224-227; ex- 
horted by Henry to remain in pub- 
lic life, 227 ; as a rival of Henry in 
the legislature, 246, 263-265; ab- 
sent from Virginia convention of 
1788, 284 ; his disapproval of new 
constitution, 285 ; elected senator 
from Virginia, 312 ; approves of the 
federal government under Washing- 
ton, 354. 

Leonard, Daniel, author of the " Let- 
ters of Massachusettensis," de- 
scribes the effect of the Virginia re- 
solves, 73-74. 

Lewis, Andrew, on committee for arm- 
ing Virginia militia, 134. 

Lewis, William, meets Henry in his 
flight from Tarleton, 253. 

Lincoln, Benjamin, letter from Wash- 
ington respecting result of Virginia 
convention of 1788, 306-307. 

Littlepage, James, his seat in the Vir- 
gmia legislature contested by Dan- 
dridge, 54. 

Livingston, Philip, member first conti- 
nental congress, 96 ; in second con- 
tinental congress, 152-153. 

Livingston, William, 166 ; member 
first continental congress, 96. 

-■Lowndes, Rawlin?, opposed to new 
constitution, 294. 

loyalists, in American Revolution, 
their principles, 257 ; hostility to, 
at end of the war, 257-258 ; magnan- 
imous policy towards, advocated by 
Hamilton and Henry, 258-260. 

Lynch, Thomas, 94 ; member of first 
continental congress, 93 ; admired 
by John Adams, 93 ; nominates Pey- 
ton Randolph for president of con- 



gress and Thomson for secretary, 
95-96; speaks in second day's de- 
bate, 100 ; in second continental 
congress, 152. 

Madison, James, intimates doubt of 
Henry's authorship of the Virginia 
resolves, 75, note ; in Virginia con- 
vention of 1776, 168 ; on conunittee 
for drafting state constitution, 180 ; 
his anecdote respecting Henry's elo- 
quence, 262-263 ; described as a less 
practical statesman than Henry, 
263-264 ; his inferiority to Henry in 
debate, 264 ; conference with Henry 
in 1784 for strengthening the con- 
federation, 272-273 ; his letters re- 
specting project for surrendering 
the Mississippi, and the effect thereof 
on Virginia and on Henry, 274-275 ; 
277-278 ; reports to Jefferson con- 
cerning Henry's opposition to new 
constitution, 280-281, 282; letter 
from President Smith respecting 
Henry's political methods, 283; 
leads Virginia convention in sup- 
port of new constitution, 285; his 
powerful arguments, 297 ; letters 
respecting Henry's agitation for 
amendments, 306, 307 ; defeated for 
senator by Henry, 312-313 ; elected 
to the house of representatives in 
spite of Henry, 313-315 ; leads the 
house in favor of immediate amend- 
ments, 315-317 ; his political separa- 
tion from Washington, 354 ; author 
of Virginia resolutions, 364. 

Mcintosh, General Lachan, his mili- 
tary command m the Indian country 
in 1779, 235. 

McKean, Thomas, member of first 
continental congress, 96. 

Marshall, John, letter respecting 
Henry's attitude toward new con- 
stitution, 277 ; supports Madison in 
convention of 1788, 285 ; Henry's 
associate in British debt cause, 321 ; 
his efforts in British debt cause 
compared with those of Henrj^, 326 ; 
commended by Henry as a candidate 
for congress in 1799, 366. 

Martin, Luther, opposed to new con- 
stitution, 294. 

Mason, George, 187 ; as a leader in 
Virginia politics, 84 ; his opinion of 
Henry in 1774, 87 ; in Virginia con- 
vention of 1776, 168 ; a leader of the 
Democratic side, 178 ; member of 
committee to draft state constitu- 
tion, 180 ; author of first fourteen 
articles, 184 ; influence against the 
new constitution, 281, 285 ; a lead- 



394 



INDEX. 



ing supporter of Henry in conven- 
tion of 1788, 285 ; to act as chair- 
man of Virginia republican society, 
305. 

Mason, Thompson, 82, 83. 

Matthews, General, his expedition into 
Virginia in 1779, 229, 235-238. 

Maury, Rev. James, rector of Fred- 
ericksville, his suit for recovery of 
salary, 40-49 ; Henry retained by the 
defendants, 42; describes Henry's 
conduct of the case, 42, 46-51. 

Mazzei, Phillip, Jefierson's letter to, 
363. 

Meade, Rt. Rev. William, Bishop of 
Virgmia, explains Henry's apology 
to Maury, 51. 

Mercer, James, 82, 134. 

Meredith, Samuel, describes character 
of Henry's mother, 267. 

Middleton, Henry, member first con- 
tinental congress, 93, 96. 

Mifflin, Thomas, member first conti- 
nental congress, 93, 96 ; entertains 
delegates, 94-95; in cabal against 
Washington, 219, 223. 

Miller, John, his account of Henry's 
last speech, 377. 377 . 

Moffett, Colonel George, flight of leg- 
islators to his farm, 253-254. 

Monroe, James, his letter to Henry 
respecting congressional projects for 
disunion in 1786, 274 ; opposed to 
new constitution, 285 ; supports 
Henry in convention of 1788, 285 ; 
letter from Jefferson respecting 
Federalist overtures to Henry, 3G1 ; 
his recall from France in 1797, 
363. 

Murray, William Vans, appointed en- 
voy to France in 1799, 367. 

Nelson, Thomas, in Virginia conven- 
tion of 1776, 174 ; offers resolution 
instructing delegates to declare in- 
dependence, 174; conveys resolu- 
tion to congress, 175 ; recommended 
for confidential communications 
from R. H, Lee, 181 ; rival of Henry 
for governor of Virginia, 186 ; 
elected governor of Virginia in 
1781, 254; his disapproval of new 
constitution, 284. 

Newenham, Sir Edward, sends present 
to Washington, 269. 

Newton, Thomas, in second Virginia 
convention, 134. 

Nicholas, George, supports Madison 
iu convention of 1788, 285. 

Nicholas, John, supposed author of 
scurrilous attacks on Henry, 344. 

Nicholas, Robert Carter, 83, 84 ; one 



of Henry's law examiners, 21 ; op- 
poses Henry's resolutions against 
Stamp Act, 63 ; transfers his law 
practice to Henry, 83 ; opposes 
Henry in second Virginia conven- 
tion, 121 ; on important committee 
in same convention, 134 ; repels 
Henry's offer of protection of Vir- 
ginia treasury, 142-143 ; in Virginia 
convention of 1776, 168 ; on commit- 
tee to draft state constitution, 177 ; 
in favor of conservative features, 
178. 
North, Lord, failure of his peace com- 
missioners, 229. 

Osv/ald, Eleazer, visits Henry at Vir- 
ginia convention of 1788, 305. 

Page, John, 9 ; as a leader in Virginia 
politics, 84 ; receives one vote for 
governor in 1776, 186. 

Page, Mann, as a leader in Virginia 
politics, 84 ; in Virginia convention 
of 1776, 168 ; on committee for 
drafting st .te constitution, 177. 

Paine, Thomas, his " Age of Reason " 
prompts Henry to write a treatise in 
defence of Christianity, 351-352. 

Parsons' Cause, the, 32-49. 

Pendleton, Edmund, 10, 21, 75 note, 
82, 83, 96, 100; on committee for 
message agamst Stamp Act, 58 ; op- 
poses Henry's resolutions against 
Stamp Act, 03 ; goes to first conti- 
nental congress, 90; described b; 
Atkinson, 91 ; speaks in second day'( 
debate, 100 ; opposes Henry in sec 
ond Virginia convention, 121 ; ci 
important committees in same co.'. 
vention, 134 ; enters Virginia coi 
vention of 1775, 155 ; is thanked b/ 
convention for service in Congress, 
155 ; chairman of Virginia commi;- 
tee of safety, 157 ; explams to R. I . 
Lee military situation, 157-15>; 
j president of convention of 1775, 

168 ; encounters enmity of Henrji's v 

friends, 169 ; author of Virginia re \ 

olution for instructing delegates fv 
independence, 174 ; leader of coi 
servative party in Virginia, 17J 
supports Madison in convention i 
1788, 285. 

Phillips, General William, invad* 
Virginia in 1781, 248. 

Raleigh Tavern, meeting of burgesst 
in, 86-87. 

Randall, Henry Stephens, biographf 
of Jefferson, cites from Jefferson', 
fee-books, 28 ; gives tradition 



INDEX. 



395 



Henry's speech for arming militia, 
129. 

Randolph, Edmund, 288 ; his version 
of a passage in Henry's speech 
against Stamp Act, G5 note ; men- 
tions Fleming as author of the Vir- 
ginia resolves, 75 note ; in Virginia 
convention of 1776, IGS ; testimony 
respecting Virginia resolution in- 
structing delegates to declare inde- 
pendence, 174 ; on committee for 
drafting state constitution, 177 ; 
testimony respecting authorship of 
Virginia Declaration of Rights, 184 ; 
describes Vv''ashington as dictator in 
1781, 202 ; his testimony respecting 
dictatorship in Virginia, 255-256 ; 
informs Madison of Henry's refusal 
to go to Philadelphia convention, 
277 ; Madison's reply, 278 ; letter 
from Madison respecting Henry's 
opposition to new constitution, 282 ; 
his vacillation respecting new con- 
stitution, 284-285 ; favors new con- 
stitution in Virgiiaia convention, 
285; his opinion against separate 
confederacies assented to by Henry, 
288 ; personal collisions with Henry 
in Virginia convention, 298-299. 

Randolph, John, 82 ; one of Henry's 
legal examiners, 21-23. 

Randolph, John, of Roanoke, describes 
Henry's appearance and oratory in 
British debt cause, 324-325; his 
speech at the time of Henry's last 
public appearance, 374-375 ; Henry's 
parting counsel to him, 375. 

Randolph, Peyton, 84, 88; one of 
Henry's exammers, 21 ; on commit- 
tee for message against Stamp Act, 
58 ; opposes Henry's policy on the 
subject, 59, 63, 66 ; described by 
Atkinson, 91 ; goes to first conti- 
nental congress, 94 ; elected its 
president, 95 ; directs Thomson to 

( take the minutes, 97 ; tries to pre- 

i vent disturbance in the affair of the 
gunpowder, 139. 

Read, George, member first continen- 
tal congress, 96. 

Red Hill becomes Henry's estate in 
1795, 341 ; description of, 342-343 ; 
Henry's mode of life at, 344-352. 

Reed, Joseph, 95 ; corresponds with 
"Washington respecting Henry's mil- 

\ itary fitness, 164. 

.Religious liberty in Virginia, asserted 

^ in 16th article of Declaration of 
Rights as written by Henry, 184 ; 
restraints upon, 184-185 ; petition 
of Baptists for, 185 ; questions af- 
fecting, 262. 



Riddick, Lemuel, on committee for 
arming Virginia militia, 134. 

Roane, John, describes Henry's speech 
for arming militia, 129-132 ; verifies 
correctness of Wirt's version of 
same speech, 132-133. 

Roane, Spencer, 9 ; his description of 
Henry and R. H. Lee as debaters, 
263-265 ; describes Henry's manner 
of living as governor, 267-268 ; de- 
scribes Henry's eloquence in conven- 
tion of 1788, 300-301 ; his descrip- 
tion of Henry as a criminal lawyer, 
335-337. 

Robertson, David, stenographer of 
convention of 1788, 286, 298, 300; 
reports Henry's first argument in 
British debt cause, 326. 

Robertson, William, of Edinburgh, 
author of " History of Charles V.," 
kinsman of Patrick Henry, 2-3. 

Robinson, John, speaker of the house 
of burgesses and treasurer of Vir- 
ginia, 56; his corruption in office, 
56-57. 

Robinson, Rev. William, commissary 
in Virginia of the Bishop of Loudon, 
denounces Henry for his course in 
" the Parsons' Cause," and against 
the Stamp Act, 77-78. 

Rodney, C<Bsar, member first conti- 
nental congress, 96 ; in second con- 
tinental congress, 154. 

Rush, Dr. Benjamin, mentioned by 
Washington as author of anonymous 
letter to Henry, 222. 

Rutledge, Edward, member first con- 
tinental congress, 93, 94, 96, 100. 

Rutledge, John, member first conti- 
nental congress, 96, 100 ; member 
of committee for address to the 
king, 104; in second continental 
congress, 152 ; extraordinary powers 
conferred on him as governor of 
South Carolina, 201 ; his nomination 
as chief justice of United States re- 
jected by the senate, 359. 

Schuyler, General Philip, in second 
continental congress, 152. 

Shelton, Sarah, first wife of Patrick 
Henry, 6. 

Sherlock, Bishop Thomas, his sermons 
favorite reading of Henry, 349 ; his 
method of dealing with religious 
problems approved by Henry, 351. 

Sherman, Roger, member first conti- 
nental congress, 96. 

Simcoe, Jolm Graves, as a partisan, 
166. 

Slavery, Henry's opinions and practice 
concerning, 346-347. 



396 



INDEX. 



Smith, Rev. John Blair, describes 
Henry's poh'tical methods against 
new constitution, 283. 

Smith, Meriwether, opposed to new 
constitution, 285. 

Smith, Rev. William, provost of Phil- 
adelphia College, confers with mem- 
bers of first continental congress, 
84. 

Sparks, Jared, editor of "Washington's 
writings, prints some official letters 
of Henry, 214 note. 

Speece, Rev. Conrad, his description 
of Henry's management and elo- 
quence in a criminal trial, 337-340. 

Stamp Act, early discussion of, in Vir- 
ginia, 58 ; reception in Virginia of 
news of its passage, 58-60 ; Henry 
leads Virginia in opposition to, GO- 
GS ; Henry's resolutions against, 61- 
64, 67 note ; influence of those reso- 
lutions in the other colonies, 70-74 ; 
their authorship avowed by Heiu-y, 
74-76. 

Stephen, Adam, on committee for 
arming Virginia militia, 134 ; his 
taunts at Henry in convention of 
1788, 299. 

Sullivan, John, member first conti- 
nental congress, 96 ; speaks in first 
day's debate, 98. 

Syme, Mrs. Sarah, widow of John 
Synie, described by Byrd, 1-2 ; mar- 
ries John Henry, 2 ; mother of Pat- 
rick Henry, 2 ; her family of tlie 
Winstons, 3-4. 

Tarleton, Sir Banastre, as a partisan, 
166 ; his exploits against the legisla- 
ture of Virginia inl781, 249-254. 

Taylor, John, of Caroline, 10. 

Thacher, Oxenbridge, praises the Vir- 
ginians for their resolutions against 
Stamp Act, 73. 

Thomson, Charles, 93, 94 ; made s&c- 
retary of first continental congress. 
95, 96, 97; describes Henry's first 
speech, 97 ; value of his testimony, 
97 note. 

Tillotson, Archbishop John, his ser- 
mons favorite reading of Henry, 
349. 

Tobacco, as money in Virginia, 33-39. 

Tucker, St. George, visitor in second 
Virginia convention, 120 ; gives 
names of opponents of Henry's mo- 
tion, 120-121 ; describes Henry's 
speech in support of his motion, 
126, 127, 132; describes Henry's 
speeches in convention of 1788, 299. 

Tyler, Judge John, 20 ; his narrative 
of Henry's legal examination, 21-23 ; 



his version of a passage in Henry's 
speech against Stamp Act, 64-65 
note ; said to have written "Wirt's 
version of Henry's speech for arm- 
ing militia, 133; his flight from 
Tarleton, 251-252; opposes Henry 
respecting the loyalists, 258; opposed 
to new constitution, 285 ; supports 
Henry in convention of 1788, 285. 

Virginia, its legislation respecting sal- 
aries of the clergy, 32-39 ; enthu- 
siasm of its people for eloquent 
men, 53 ; corruption in its colonial 
legislature, 56-57 ; its law courts 
closed by the revolution, 81 ; division 
of parties with respect to revolu- 
tionary politics, 84-85; action of 
house of burgesses with respect to 
the Boston Port Bill, 86 ; house dis- 
solved by Lord Dunmere, S<j ; its 
convention, August, 1774, recom- 
mends continental congress, and 
appoints delegates thereto, 87-89 ; 
its delegates praised by John Ad- 
ams, 94 ; its influence in the con- 
gress, 100 ; its second revolutionary 
convention, 113-134 ; political sig- 
nificance of its resolutions for arming 
militia, 113-122 ; Hanry's speeches 
in convention, 121-133 ; its first 
overt act of war committed by 
Henry, 137 ; alarm at seizure of 
gunpowder by Dunmore, and action 
taken thereon, 138-142 ; many coun- 
ties thank Henry for his action re- 
specting gunpowder, 145-146 ; its 
convention for July and August, 
1775, 155-156 ; its committee of 
safety restrains military activity of 
Henry, 156-159, 162-166; conven- 
tion of 1776, 168-188 ; character of 
its members, 168-169 ; the question 
of independence, 170-177 ; popular 
enthusiasm over proposal for inde- 
pendence, 176 ; influence of Vir- 
ginia's example, 177 ; aristocratic 
and democratic tendencies in con- 
vention, 177-186; triumph of de- 
mocracy, 185-186 ; religious liberty, 
184-185 ; becomes a state and 
chooses Henry its first governor, 
185-186 ; salary and residence of its 
first governor, 189 ; rejoicing of the 
Baptists over the election of Henry 
as governor, 191, 192; traditional 
idea as to dignity of its governor, 
193-194 ; its military defence sug- 
gested by Washington, 195-196 ; 
first session of its state legislature, 
194-195 ; the project for a dictator- ''• 
ship in 1776, 198-208 ; military as- 



INDEX. 



397 



sistance to Wasliington iu 1776 and 

1777, 208-209; difficulty in raising 
troops, 210-211 ; elects Henry for 
governor a second time, 211-212; 
executive business during Henry's 
second term, 211; attempt to un- 
dermine Virginia's support of Wash- 
ington, 215 ; personal bitterness in 
its politics, 224; diniinislied favor 
towards R. H. Lse, 224-226 ; lack 
of patriotism in 1778, 226 ; bestows 
extraordinary powers on Henry in 

1778, 228 ; elects him governor for 
third time, 22S ; success of Clark's 
expedition to Illinois, 230-231 ; con- 
fers extraordinary powers on Gov- 
ernor Henry, 232 ; military situa- 
tion of Virginia in 1778, 232-234 ; 
invasion by the British in 1779, 
^34-238 ; elects Jefferson as gov- 
ernor, June 1, 1779, 239; thanks 
^Governor Henry for his services, 
240; its military efficiency under 
Henry's direction, 240-241 ; its de- 
ficient public spirit in 1780, 244- 
245 ; invaded by Arnold, Piiillips, 
and Cornwallis in 1781, 248-251 ; 
flight of its legislature, 249-254 ; the 
story of the dictatorship in 1781, 
254-256; elects Thomas Nelson as 
governor in 1781, 254 ; its legisla- 
tion respecting defeated loyalists, 
foreign commerce, Indians and re- 
ligious bodies, 256-262 ; Henry's 
second period as governor, 1784 to 
1786, 266; grants to Washington 
.shares in navigation companies, 268- 
269 ; thanks Henry for his services 

governor, 270 ; its opposition to 
the surrender of the Mississippi, 
276, 278 ; appoints Henry as 
to Philadelphia convention, 
convention called to consider 
ew federal constitution, 280 ; sit- 
ation of parties respecting new 
onstitution, 281-285 ; its decision, 
95-296 ; division of parties respect- 
new constitution, 304-395 ; zeal 
"or amendments quickened byl^ew 
fork's circular letter, 307 ; legisla- 
;ure of 1788 adopts Henry's meas- 
ires for securing irameiiate amend- 
nents, 308-315 ; its appeal to con- 
gress, 309-311 ; its first two senators, 
312 ; the first victim of gerryman- 
dering, 315 ; its legislature submis- 
sive to Henry, 314-315 ; its influence 
1 securing first ten amendments, 
16-317 ; its relation to the British 
ebt case, 320-321 ; great ability of 
cs bar, 321 ; spread of French scep- 
icism resisted by Henry, 350-351 ; 



elects Henry as governor in 1796, 
362 ; resolutions of 1798, 364 ; alarm- 
ing condition of, in 1799, 364-365 ; 
368-370, 372-374. 

Walker, , of Virginia, sent by 

Henry to Washington as secret mes- 
senger, 209. 

Walker, Thomas, defendant in British 
debt cause, 320. 

Ward, Samuel, member first conti- 
nental congress, 93 ; speaks m sec- 
ond day's debate, 100. 

Washington, George, 88, 96, 273, 284, 
360, 362 ; goes v/ith Henry and Pen- 
dleton to first continental congress, 
SO ; described by Atkinson, 91 ; on 
committee for arming Virginia mi- 
litia, 134 ; on committee to encour- 
age arts and manufactures iu Vir- 
ginia, 134 ; notified by his companies 
of their reacb'ness to march against 
Dunmore, 138 ; letter from Henry 
in second continental congress, 
154 ; thanked by Virginia on retire- 
ment from her service in congress, 
155 ; doubts Henry's fitness for mil- 
itary service, 164; military move- 
ments in summer and fall of 1776, 
195 ; letter to Henry on the military 
situation, 195-196 ; letter from Lan- 
don Carter sneering at Henry, 196- 
197 ; described as a dictator in 1781, 
by Edmund Randolph and Henry, 
202-203 ; situation of his troops in 
latter part of 1776, 203 ; heartily 
supported by Henry, 208-211 ; ex- 
plains to Henry his reception of 
secret messenger, 208 ; receives from 
Henry explanation of Virginia's 
backwardness in raising troops, 
210-211 ; his military history latter 
half of 1777, 213 ; official correspond- 
ence with Henry, 214 ; the Conway 
cabal, 215-223; anonymous letter to 
Henry against, 215-217 ; receives 
two letters from Henry on the sub- 
ject, 218-220 ; writes to Henry two 
letters in renlv, 220-223; deep 
friendship for Henry, 223-224 ; R. 
H. Lee accused of favoring Conway 
cabal, 225 ; letters from Henry re- 
specting military situation in 1779, 
234 ; letters to Henry in praise of his 
efficiency and help as governor, 240- 
241 ; named for Virginia dictator in 
1781, 255 ; correspondence with 
Henry respecting shares in naviga- 
tion companies, 268-269 ; Madison's 
letters respecting Henry's hostility 
to strengthening the confederation, 
276-277; presidea over convention 



398 



INDEX. 



of 1787, 279; commends new con- 
stitution to Henry, and Heni-y's 
reply, 279-2S0 ; anxiety over Henry's 
opposition, 280, 282-283 ; letter from 
Harrison against new constitution, 
287 ; gratification on account of 
Henry's pacific assurance, 29G-297 ; 
letter from Madison respecting Hen- 
ry's intended agitation for amend- 
ments, 306 ; his anxiety on the sub- 
ject, 396-307, 308 ; receives informa- 
tion respecting Henry's proceedings 
in the legislature, 30b-309 ; his prob- 
able opinions respecting Henry's 
conduct given by iiis private secre- 
tary, 314-315 ; his administration in 
harmony with Henry's political 
views, 353-351 ; his reconciliation 
with Henry, 355-358 ; otters Henry 
office of secretary of state, 358-359 ; 
also ofiice of chief justice of United 
States, 359-360. 

Webster, Daniel, 9, 20. 

Williamsburg, capital of Virginiaj 53, 
54 ; meeting of Virginia convention, 
August, 1774, 87-89 ; involved in the 
affair of the gunpov/der, 138-144 ; 
governor's palace occupied by Hen- 
ry, 189 ; its undefended condition in 
1776, 197. 

Wilson, James, 216 ; in second conti- 
nental congress, 152, 153. 

Wirt, William, his opinion as to Hen- 
ry's education, 13 ; errors respect- 
ing Henry's legal attainments and 
practice, 24, 26 ; describes Henry's 
speech in the Parsons' Cause, 42- 
46 ; asserts that Henry's opposition 
to Stamp Act made him the idol of 
Virginians, 79; his mistaken ac- 
count of Henry's standing at the 
bar, 83-84 ; his description of first 



continental congress and of Hen' 
ry's part in it, 106-lOSj misled bji 
testimony of Jefferson, "108-109 ; hie 
version of Henry's speech criticised, 
132-133 ; his pupilage to Jefferson, 
199 ; account of Henry's relation to 
project for dictator in 1776, 199- 
200 ; prhits some official letters o 
Henry, 214 note ; names Henry i: 
connection with dictatorship i: 
1781, 254 ; describes Henry's el 
quence in convention of 1788, 301 
301 ; his opinion of the bar of Vi 
ginia, 321 ; describes the scene (^ 
Henry's first argument in the Bril 
ish debt cause, 322-324 ; his analysf 
of Henry's genius and metliods a, 
an advocate before juries, 327-329! 
his inaccurate description of Hei 
ry's religious position, 349. 

Witherspoon, Joim, President of Nej 
Jersey college, 94, 95; teacher q 
Madison, 168. \ 

Woodford, General William, 161 
chosen over Henry for active ser- 
vice in the field, 158 ; wins battle ol 
Great Bridge, 158 ; letter from com- 
mittee of safety, 163. 

Wythe, George, 82, 84 ; one of Hen- 
ry's legal examiners, 21 ; on com 
mittee for message against Stamp 
Act, 58 ; opposes Henry's policy on 
the subject, 59, 63 ; in Virginia con- 
vention of 1776, 168 ; supports Mad- 
ison in convention of 1788, 285. 

Young, Captain H., his testimony re 
specting dictatorship in 1781, 255. 

Zane, Isaac, on committee for arming 
Virginia militia, 134. 



^mertcatt statesmen. 

A Series of Biographies of Men conspicuous in the 
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yohti Randolph. By Henry Adams. 
yames Monroe. By Pres. Daniel C. Oilman. 
Thomas Jefferson. By John T. Morse, Jr. 
Daniel Webster. By Henry Cabot Lodge. 
Albert Gallatifi. By John Austin Stevens. 
James Madison. By Sydney Howard Gay. 
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John Marshall. By A. B. Magruder. 
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Washington Irving. By Charles Dudley Warner. 
Noah Webster. By Horace E. Scudder. 
Henry D. Thoreau. By Frank B. Sanborn. 
George Ripley. By Octavius Brooks Frothingham. 
-7. Feniinore Cooper. By Thomas R. Lounsbury. 
Margaret Fuller Ossoli. By T. W. Higginson. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson. By Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
Edgar Allan Poe. By George E. Woodberry. 
Nathaniel Parker Willis. By Henry A. Beers. 

IN PREPARATION. 
Benjamin Franklin. By John Bach McMaster. 
Nathaniel Hawthorne. By James Russell Lowell. 
William Cullen Bryant. By John Bigelow. 
Bayard Taylor, By J. R. G. Hassard. 
William Gihnore Simms. By George W. Cable. 
Others to be announced hereafter. 

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thies broad and deep. — Philadelphia Press. 



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*^* For sale by all Booksellers. Sent, post-paid, on receipt 
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9lnier(can CommotiMjealtfis, 

EDITED BY 

HORACE E. SCUDDER. 



A series of volumes narrating the history of such 
States of the Union as have exerted a positive influ- 
ence in the shaping of the national government, or 
have a striking political, social, or economical history. 

The commonwealth has always been a positive force 
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time could be found for a statement of the life inher- 
ent in the States than when the unity of the nation 
has been assured ; and it is hoped by this means to 
throw new light upon the development of the country, 
and to give a fresh point of view for the study of 
American history. 

This series is under the editorial care of Mr. Hor- 
ace E. Scudder, who is well known both as a student 
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and graphic narratives, which shall have substantial 
^alue as historical monographs and at the same time 
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"American Men of Letters," and are furnished with 
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Speaking of the series, the Boston journal says: 
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place in our historical literature. Written by compe- 
tent and aptly chosen authors, from fresh materials, 
m convenient form, and with a due regard to propor- 
tion and proper emphasis, they promise to supply 
most satisfactorily a positive want." 



NOW READY. 

Virginia, A History of the People. By John Esten 
Cooke, author of "The Virginia Comedians," 
"Life of Stonewall Jackson," "Life of General 
Robert E. Lee," etc. 

Oregon. The Struggle for Possession. By William 
Barrows, D. D. 

Marylatid. By William Hand Browne, Associate 
of Johns Hopkins University. 

Kenticcky. By Nathaniel Southgate Shaler, S. D., 
Professor of Palaeontology, Harvard University, re- 
cently Director of the Kentucky State Survey. 

Michigan. By Hon. T. M. Cooley, LL. D. 

Kansas, By Leverett W. Spring, Professor of Eng- 
lish Literature in the University of Kansas. 

California. By Josiah Royce, Instructor in Philoso- 
phy in Harvard University. 

New York. By Hon. Ellis H. Roberts. 2 vols. 

Connecticut. By Alexander Johnston, author of a 
" Handbook of American Politics," Professor of 
Jurisprudence and Political Economy in the Col- 
lege of New Jersey. 

IN PREPARA TION 

Tennessee. By James Phelan, Ph. D. (Leipsic). 

Pennsylvania. By Hon. Wayne McVeagh, late At- 
torney-General of the United States. 

Missouri. By Lucien Carr, M. A., Assistant Curator 
of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology. 

Ohio. By Hon. Rufus King. 

New Jersey. By Austin Scott, Ph. D. Professor 
of History in Rutgers College. 
Others to be announced hereafter. Each volume, 

with Maps, i6mo, gilt top, $1.25. 



PRESS NOTICES. 



"VIRGINIA." 

Mr. Cooke has made a fascinating volume — one which it will 
be very difficult to surpass either in method or interest. . . . True 
historic insight appears through all these pages, and an earnest 
desire to do all parties and religions perfect justice. The story 
of the settlement of Virginia is told in full. ... It is made as 
interesting as a romance. — The Critic (New York). 

No more acceptable writer could have been selected to tell the 
6tory of Virginia's history. — Educational Journal of Virginia 
(Richmond, Va.). 

" OREGON." 

The long and interesting story of the struggle of five nations 
for the possession of Oregon is told in the graphic and reliable 
narrative of William Barrows. ... A more fascinating record 
has seldom been written. . . . Careful research and pictorial skill 
of narrative commend this book of antecedent history to all in- 
terested in the rapid march and wonderful development of our 
American civilization upon the Pacific coast. — Springfield Re- 
publican. 

There is so much that is new and informing embodied in this 
little volume that we commend it with enthusiasm. It is written 
with great ability. — Magazine of American History (New York). 

" MARYLAND." 

With great care and labor he has sought out and studied origi- 
nal documents. By the aid of these he is able to give his work a 
value and interest that would have been impossible had he fol- 
lowed slavishly the commonly accepted authorities on his subject. 
His investigation in regard to toleration in Maryland is particu- 
larly noticeable. — IVew York Evening Post. 

A substantial contribution to the history of America. — MagU' 
ztne of American History, 

« KENTUCKY." 
Professor Shaler has made use of much valuable existing ma- 
terial, and by a patient, discriminating, and judicious choice has 
given us a complete and impartial record of the various stages 



through which this State has passed from its first settlement to 
the present time. No one will read this story of the building of 
one of the great commonwealths of this Union without feelings of 
deep interest, and that the author has done his work well and im- 
partially will be the general verdict — CAHstiau at Wi^rk (New 
York). 

A capital example of what a short State history should be. — 
Hartford Con rant. 

'' KANSAS." 

In all respects one of the very best of the series. . . . His work 
exhibits diligent research, discrimination in the selection of ma- 
terials, and skill in combining his chosen stuff into a narration 
that has unity, and order, and lucidity. It is an excellent presen- 
tation of the important aspects and vital principles of the Kansas 
struggle, — Hartford Courant. 

"MICHIGAN.'' 

An ably written and charmingly interesting volume. . . . For 
variet}- of incident, for transitions in experience, for importance 
of events, and for brilliancy and ability- in the service of the lead- 
ing actors, the history- of Michigan offers rare attractions ; and 
the writer of it has brought to his task the most excellent gifts 
and powers as a vigorous, impartial, and thoroughly accomplished 
historian. — Christian R^^i^fcr (Boston). 

" CALIFORNIA." 

Mr. Royce has made an admirable study. He has established 
his view and fortified his position with a wealth of illustration 
from incident and reminiscence. The story is made altogether 
entertaining. ... Of the countn,' and its productions, of pioneer 
life and character, of social and political questions, of business 
and industrial enterprises, he has given us full and intelligent ac- 
counts. — Bt^sA^n Transcript. 

It is the most truthful and graphic description that has been 
written of this wonderful history which has from time to time 
been written in scraps and sketches. — Chicago Intcr-Occan. 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO., Publishers, 
Boston and New York. 



